#ship: breaking protocol

[etherealvoidechoes]

(Rewrite) - U.M.R. (FYL) - Every Decision Has a Consequence… Every Mistake Has a Cost - 8/8

Ao3 Link

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The usual violence, blood, language, etc., for my works. 

Sorry, this took so long. Had a block and then stuff came up. But bloody finally, it is finished. But won't be surprised if I come back to change things. Brain is semi-displeased, but I think I made it end on an adequate note.

Will future rewrites come to the other fics I did for this AU on my Tumblr? Maybe~

Also, a little warning of Maker broaching a little too close to the punishment abuse the Elders like to inflict on the Chosen.'

Approx. 14.8k

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It was several hours later when Jy-Sol began to stir from a dreamless sleep. 

Eyes closed tight, with a faint headache strumming along, she stretched out like a cat, flaring out all her digits. A few joints let out a few crackling pops. She froze for a second when she felt something tighten around her waist; strong with faint softness. Something else danced across her naked back before sharp pushes dug in. Then she felt a faint prickly sensation press against her stomach before the murmurs began.

What…? What? For just a moment, she activated her psionics and reached out. Oh, right. 

With another stretch, her eyes slowly fluttered open before she looked down. Holding on to her as if she would slip away like the wind was Bradford. He looked to be in deep sleep and was muttering something. 

Gently, she placed a hand on his head, fingers rifled through his hair, before she started to probe at their bond of connection. 

Exhausted. Content. A million plans running through his mind concerning everything he was missing back on the ship since the incident. 

Work never ends. She heard it repeated in his mind a few times, catching glimpses of other memories tied to the notion. She snorted at that. Something she dealt with constantly. But her flat nose soon scrunched up when she sensed something that concerned her. 

“Hm…” It was faint, but she felt those feelings he had for her. The old and the new. Neither had faded. They felt more impassioned before and deeply intertwined with each other. 

She let out an annoyed sigh. “We fell on the wayside. I fear I may have made this worse. We don’t need this. You don’t need this.”

Then she gleaned something else. Concern. For a moment, her lips pulled back into a grimace, causing her to bare her sharp teeth.

“Wait…”

She gently probed at the feeling some more. A frightened concern. Fear, sorrow, and a hint of anger riddled every part of it. As she probed at it, she wheezed when Bradford’s grip tightened around her, and his nails dug deeper into her back. She grimaced more as she felt a pull on her psionics, digging deep into her being.

This pull… Is the connection still going?

“Sorry… I’m so sorry we couldn’t find you sooner.” He muttered the words in his sleep. “What did They do to you? Why? Why?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I wonder…” 

It only took a little tapping to find the faint connection that was glowing brightly in their bond. A bond that had also strengthened. 

That’s… not good…

As her mind was adding that to the list of concerns, curiosity grabbed at her. Why was it still going? And what could have strengthened it? Just as she was going to press into it to explore it and see what was disturbing his sleep, she relented. 

I don’t want to violate that tentative trust. And my gambit may have already shattered it. 

She closed her eyes as she wondered where their conversation would go once he woke up. Would he be furious? Annoyed? Or understanding? And how would Asaru weigh in?

Just let there be no violence.

As her mind formulated plans on how to deal with the possible futures, another part of her brain was examining herself. She felt… strange. There was still that programmed indoctrination raging in its cage for what she had done, but she felt a faint shift in those aspects of love that were supposed to be seared out of her. It felt as if something was there now, slowly growing and blooming. And she felt subtle connections to memories she didn’t remember existing. 

She touched her chest. “Strange…” Something to explore later. 

She let her mind dwell on the new and confusing feelings before she decided to worry about them later. It was time to get up, which was its own hassle. 

“No, don’t go. Jynn… please…” A faint plea came from the sleeping Bradford as soon as he felt the faintest shift and push from her. “I’m… I’m sorry…”

His grip tightened around her waist, and that tail wrapped around her for good measure, too. 

Her nose wrinkled, even more so at the name he used. She had a feeling their talk was going to be tough. 

It took a fair amount of finagling and gentle pokes with her psionics to get the man to release her. She had to swiftly pull herself away, nearly stumbling out of the bed, before those arms closed in once more. Once out of bed and standing, she stretched again. 

She fetched her plug-suit and tossed it over her shoulder; that needed to go to her armory for a quick maintenance check and cleaning. She found Bradford’s pants and placed them on a nearby chair. 

“Let me freshen up, and then I will wake him.”

As she was heading to her bathroom to freshen up, her hands were slowly going over her body. She faintly hissed as she rubbed her shoulders and then her backside. 

“He’s rough with those nails. And I think he may have bit me on my shoulder…”

————————

She meditated while taking an icy shower. As she did so, she poked at the new memories. Something from the old her. They were less fragmented than she had expected. Some more glimpses of her childhood, a funeral for her grandfather, and her time leading XCOM. All featured certain key personnel heavily. Bradford was one of them. And then a ghost of an alien that would sometimes catch a glimpse of in the mirror, or lingering around one of the Sub-Commanders, before shifting back over to her. She quickly deduced that it was most likely Asaru.

She let out a heavy sigh. “My predictions were terribly wrong. My gambit may cost him dearly. Their… Our friendship was much closer than I assumed…” She paused. “Why did I say that?”

She searched within herself again. She still felt distant from her old self, but as she poked at those memories again, she felt an odd fondness for them. They were comforting. 

“Hm…” Is this the shift I was seeking? Was part of this gambit a boon for me? That was something for her to delve into deeper at a later time. 

She picked at the memories for a little while more before she finished her shower.

Drying herself off, she slipped into something more casual. A red form-fitting top with black lines, and loose black pants.

“I wonder if he’s awake?”

————————

Before entering the main chambers, her mind tapped at the facility’s Network to see what was going on. The facility was functioning as usual. The Avenger was still stationed in the Docking Bay. Then she found the chatter concerning her whisking away Bradford. People were not happy. Corvo and the other figureheads were struggling to keep everything under control. Maker’s assurances that the two were still within the facility barely quelled anything. Which wasn’t helped by the Elder’s own simmering annoyance towards her that he did not hide, nor could he. His shellbodies were burning out faster than usual.

I expect to get shot the moment I step near the Avenger. And Maker is going to have his own punishment for me… 

The former barely bothered her, but the latter. Eyes slowly closing tight, her mind brought forth an unpleasant memory. It did not deal with her, but someone else. Someone who had betrayed Maker’s kindness and trust. She learned he had the capacity to be cruel like the other Elders, if not more frightening.

Her body trembled, recalling their screams as a torrent of corrupted psionic energy ripped through them.

I wonder if that fool is still alive? Were they a double-agent since the beginning, or did the other Elders promise them an elevated status if they pried into Maker’s work? I understand why Maker scrutinizes anything that comes from the Others and why he has his own production facilities…

Returning to the main chambers, her ears were greeted by snoring. Then she saw him all curled up, tangled in the sheets — a little bit of his tail stuck out and smacked against the bed every other murmur. She shook his head but couldn’t help but softly laugh.

“Cute.”

Slowly, she sat on the side of the bed he was mostly facing. The faint give in the mattress made him snort.

“Hm…? Jynn...?” He mumbled in his sleep as a hand began to pat the cool space around him before slowly going over to her.

She wrinkled her nose, hearing that. This will be such a problem. Time to wake him.

Ignoring that searching hand, she leaned over and stretched out a hand to touch his shoulder. She was just a few inches away before she suddenly found her hand coming to a stop as an invisible force pressed against it.

Her eyes narrowed when she felt the press back. It wasn’t forceful, but matched her strength. Just as she was about to activate her psionics, several tentacles manifested around Bradford, one of which was underneath that hand.

“Asaru?” She asked with a faint hint of surprise. She withdrew her hand.

There was no answer at first. The tentacles stretched out in a searching pattern. The bulbous tips glowed bright as faint dots of electricity flickered up and down the translucent appendages. One wrapped around Bradford’s searching hand and dragged it back. A few went over to her and hovered dangerously close to her body.

Jy-Sol let out a few grunts as she felt the alien push and pull on her being before those tentacles retracted back over to Bradford.

“It is I,” Asaru finally answered. “I believe your offer may not have worked as you planned for John.”

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. A faint nod followed. “I believe my prediction probabilities were off.”

“I believe that is an understatement.”

“How so?” Her dry tone made clear that the question was entirely sarcastic and rhetorical. A faint chortle came from Asaru.

A few tentacles tapped at Bradford’s head. “I’ve had time to analyze the blur of memories and emotions from that little impassioned escapade and where his mind and body are currently as he rests.” A sigh slipped out as Asaru knew the headache of a conversation he was going to have with his host later. “It has only emboldened his feelings and deeply intertwined the new and old you together.” 

“Mhm.” Jy-Sol chewed on the inside of her lip. Something she had noticed earlier with her little probing. “Shouldn’t it be one or the other?”

“You would think, but I believe he sensed part of the old you resurfacing for just a moment or found something deeper within your being. Whichever it was, it inflamed his heart.” A tentacle drifted over and gently tapped at her chest. Once it moved, her hand moved there. “A faint change you have detected in yourself, yes?”

“I… I’m not entirely sure. I’ve had more memories come back together, but I still feel distant from Jynn.” 

“And the new feelings?”

She froze for just a moment. How did he know? The thought only lingered for a second before she recalled the probing he did, and possibly just a faint imprint of her emotions was left in her bond with Bradford.

“I… I don’t know… Everything feels strange to me. Foreign. It is all…” She paused as her nails picked at her chest. Should she say it? Something that was anathema to her making, for she was to be an instrument of such an emotion. “Frightening.”

Asaru let out a faint mhm. 

Tentacles drifted back over to her, but didn’t come as close as they did the first time.

“This little leap off the edge has triggered another turmoil within yourself. Something else that grates at your remaking and indoctrination as it burrows in like an invasive weed, but grows like a freshly sprouted and tender seedling.”

Jy-Sol only replied with a faint mhm.

A faint blue glow appeared around Bradford before it grew into a blinding light as if it were the rising sun. Jy-Sol had to turn her head away and raised a hand to block it.

As quickly as the light came, it disappeared. As she turned back, she gasped. 

Floating softly in a cross-legged position above Bradford was Asaru. She had never seen the alien outside of its host. She had glimpsed him from time to time, briefly overlaying Bradford’s body during those interrogations against her, a few memories she pulled from him and some captive XCOM soldiers, and her own fragmented memories. His appearance was much more breathtaking than she could have ever imagined. 

“You reveal yourself to me… why?” She asked.

“It is long overdue.” He said. “And perhaps a test to see if you recall what I look like?” He gestured to himself.

She scrutinized his form. A thin frame, four-armed frame that reminded her of the Elders. And that’s where it ended. Everything was so much different. He almost seemed incorporeal. His near-translucent appearance and faint glow made him look like a ghost.

Is his species distantly related to the Elders? Besides his power… is that another reason why They wish to capture him? 

Her eyes lingered on his form for a long time as she searched through her memories. They found a few fragments — some of her most damaged memories — between the years before she had been sought out by XCOM and just before she was given full control over the organization. There was something there. A meeting. A faint imprint. A ghost lingered just behind two people before they fully emerged and properly joined the conversation. As the memory attempted to move further, it shattered and crumbled into incoherent nonsense with interference from her “new” memories. 

She shook her head. “I believe no. The memories are distant or removed.”

Raising a hand to his head, he tapped at the bubble membrane as his skull shifted back and forth. 

“Hm. A shame. Though…” A tentacle floated over to her head and stopped just an inch away. “I believe a deeper search may reveal something. As I said before, I sensed a shift and perhaps something more... I wish to explore it.”

She eyed that tentacle. Her fingers drummed against the bed. Throat trembling, she looked away. “Would that be wise?”

“At this exact moment? No.” A faint chuckle came from the alien. He gestured lazily with his hand. “I would prefer to examine it in a more secure and controlled setting. I know nothing has happened during your sessions with the Templars, but I have a faint warning gnawing at me that this exploration may cause your psionics to respond negatively or your former Masters will detect it and interfere.” 

She looked away when he mentioned the Elders. A hand went up to her psi-helm. One gift from Maker that started her down her changed path. A gift that let her have more “free thoughts” and privacy against the Elders. A gift that allowed her to push Them out and sever her connection to Them.

Is it truly severed? She could feel Their touch linger on her being. Just a faint connection of Their power that was still intertwined with her, even though her true powers had been pushing it out over the months. No… I am still bound to Them until They or that is destroyed…

Feeling that her mind wanted to tread into a dark and inevitable future she did not want to dwell on, her mind shifted back over to Bradford.

He needs to join the conversation. I just wonde— wait…

A memory came to mind. His strange reaction to one word.

“I have a question.”

“Yes?” Asaru said, head tilting to the side.

“Just as we were on the cusp of the edge when I believed John would reject my idea after he… sensed there was more to my proposal…” She hesitated to admit her minor deceit. “He had a strange reaction to one word I said.” She pulled at the memory to recall it better. “At first, he was confused before he began to laugh and grew excited. As if all hesitation and concerns evaporated.”

Asaru tapped at his head as if he had lips. “Hm. Curious. What was the word?”

“Cher.”

Asaru let out a brief hm. His skull jittered about as he searched his memories. A few tentacles hovered over Bradford’s head, their tips glowing a soft blue and yellow.

“Huh…” He inclined his head to the side, slowly tilting it to look at Bradford; the inner floating skull rotated faster. “Huh…”

Asaru made a few more musing noises as more tentacles shifted over to Bradford. The man grunted in response to the increased probing, but did not stir from his sleep. Jy-Sol watched with a curious eye, but said nothing.

It wasn’t until several minutes of silence that she finally spoke up.

“What did you find?”

He didn’t respond, but a tentacle floated over to her and gently pressed against her head. There was a faint tug that made her wince.

“Asaru.”

“A moment.”

A few more minutes passed before he finally turned his attention back to her.

“Interesting…” He mumbled to himself. A finger was still tapping away at his head; he retracted the tentacle pressed against her head. “To answer your question, the word ties back to the human you. Cajun French from Louisiana. It escapes me at the moment if Jynn was born in that state, but her father was, and he had a rather thick accent, which bled onto his children.” A little laughter began to seep out as he began recalling some memories from their old bond. “From what I can remember during our bond, when she was rather tired or frustrated, the accent would come out in full force. And that’s not including the Japanese she would slip into and pepper it with rather choice words from other languages she knew.”

“Ah…” She slowly nodded. Her mind went to work processing and comparing the information. Eyes drifting back to Bradford, her nose wrinkled. This is worrisome. 

She let an annoyed, pained sigh slip out. “He’s believing in something that isn’t there… That doesn’t exist… anymore…”

“I wouldn’t entirely say that.” Asaru tutted, waggling a tentacle.

“Asaru…” She let out another sigh. “You know from what I have told and from what the Templ—”

A tentacle pressed against her lips, silencing her. As quickly as it touched her, she pulled back and snarled, furrowing her brows as her eyes glowed fiercely.

“Calm down.” Asaru made a threatening jab with the tentacle. “You give in to despair concerning your past too easily.” He began to explain, making a few gestures towards Bradford. “Though recovering your former self looks bleak, there seems to be more beneath that fragmented surface.” He then pressed a tentacle against her chest. “That an… unorthodox… method roused from the depths, pulling at old strings from our bond to do so.”

As that tentacle pulled back, Jy-Sol touched where it once was on her chest. Those strange feelings fluttered inside her, making her stomach twist. Eyes closed tight, her fingers drummed against her like the lightning-fast thrusts she would make with her glaive.

Is what he said true? Why… why do I feel this way? Part of her wished she could cut it out and cast it away. It was too troublesome.

“I… I feel like John should be privy to this discussion.”

“Let me wake him,” Asaru said.

The tentacles, some hovering and others pressing against the man’s body, began to brighten. More grunts came from Bradford as he slowly began to stir.

There was a great deal of shifting before an arm wriggled itself free from the twisted sheets and swatted at the offending tentacles.

“Stop that, Asaru,” Bradford grumbled. 

“Time to get up. You’ve slept enough.” Asaru said with a faint tease as he jabbed at the man several more times before quickly pulling back his tentacles as that angry hand came back around to strike at them again.

Bradford grumbled some more, wishing for just another hour’s worth of sleep. He curled into himself and let out a low groan as he rubbed his face. It took him a bit more before he started to groggily raise himself, fighting with the sheets he had tangled himself in like a spider’s web.

“Whaaaat’s so important that you can’t let me sleep longer? Is Maker wanting to do more bu—” Just as he was rubbing the last bit of sleep from his tired eyes, before he finally recognized where he was. Eyes darting around, they fell on Jy-Sol. 

Right…  The evening was coming back to him. His tail twitched. She’s dressed… A part of him was disappointed by that. Just the fleeting thought of him wanting to touch her bare flesh intimately again crossed his mind before Asaru shunted it out. And looks… concerned. 

His head slowly turned to look at Asaru. The alien made a few flicking gestures with his tentacles.

Just give me a few details. Bradford sent a thought.

It is layered. Deals with that little romp you two entertained. Asaru answered.

You are never going to let me live this down, are you?

As you said ages ago, I’m the annoying sibling you never asked for. Asaru playfully teased. Sooooo, no. There was a faint jitter in his skull.

Smartass. 

With a rough clearing of his throat, Bradford looked back over to Jy-Sol. What to say? What to say?

“H-how are you doing? I hope I didn’t… kick you out of the bed?” He noticed he was practically sitting in the middle, hogging all of the sheets.

A faint smile graced Jy-Sol’s face. “I am doing… fine.” She didn’t mean to hesitate; it just came out naturally. “You didn’t. In fact, I had to fight to get out of bed. You’re rather clingy.”

Red tinged his cheeks. “Uh, s-sorry…”

“How are you feeling?”

“A little sore…” A faint grunt slipped out as he craned his neck. “But otherwise fine.” 

Feeling that tension of awkward silence rising, Bradford knew he was going to have to bring it up. He could faintly sense she was lying about being fine. 

She must have some thoughts on how things went… Wonder how she feels about it… Hope I wasn’t too demanding… Or did she see what I saw during our connection? 

His mind briefly focused on the sex, which was surprisingly good, before it switched over to something he caught due to their psionic connection. 

Let me talk about that. Ignore the sex talk for now…. Mostly.

He pulled himself over to her, pausing when he noticed her tensing. Just for a second, her eyes took on the intensity of a predator studying its target, attempting to figure out its next move before they relaxed.

She must think I must be… He didn’t complete the thought as a mental sigh took over. 

“About what we did…” Searching for words, he chewed on his tongue. 

Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her hand; she tensed again. There was a faint contraction in her muscles as her hand shifted, but never pulled away. 

“I’m… sorry if I got too handsy or demanding.” He could faintly recall that he was still touchy off and on while they had sex, and when things finally cooled off before passing out. His hands were so demanding as they continued exploring her body. Pressing. Caressing. Gripping. Clawing.

“Barely a bother.” Jy-Sol dismissed his concerns. “You had your needs that needed satisfying. I just hoped I was able to answer that to the degree that was sufficient.”

He was about to say something else, but her nonchalant attitude threw him off. Just a faint snort slipped out as he raised a brow. “… You’re making it sound like a business transaction.”

“Am I?” She inclined her head to the side. There was a faint pull on the corners of her lips. “Maybe,” she shrugged, “it is akin to the ‘quid quo pro’ work you frequently do with the Resistance.”

Bradford’s brows twitched again at her blasé attitude. Did she feel nothing? Does she feel nothing? I swear she felt something in that connection…

An abrupt mental thwack made him wince before important details from the discussion with Maker were shoved to the forefront of his mind. 

He turned his head ever so slowly to glare at Asaru.

Asaru made a few flicking gestures with his tentacles. Focus and get on with it. Think less about the adventurous romp and more on what is trying to rebuild itself.

I know what I felt. But Maker’s words were filling that doubt in his heart. And I will!

He took a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose and grumble a few more things at Asaru before looking back at Jy-Sol.

“Ignoring that…” Half the comment was directed to Asaru, and then what she had likened their sex to. “I… I think your dangerous idea helped and—”

“Helped?” Jy-Sol nearly choked on the word; her eyes widened as she drew her head back. She fought the innate urge to sneer; her lips twitched as her upper lip wanted to curl.

He raised a brow. “Helped and… complicated things. Really complicated things…”

“Helped?” She couldn’t help but question that again, almost ignoring what he said next as she expected that to come out first.

His eyes became hooded as he let out an annoyed sigh. Fighting a storm here… From what I sense, that was locked up before the act… 

Not giving her a chance to react, he moved closer before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder, lightly pressing the side of his head against hers.

“It’s… It’s hard to explain.” His voice dropped into a low whisper riddled with pain. “But… You’re still in there. Despite everything They did to you… You are still in there… just… just torn apart,” his voice cracked, “and buried deep. I’m so sorry we couldn’t find you in time, Jynn.”

Jy-Sol didn’t return the hug. She froze, hands hovering just a few inches from his body. She cast a glance at Asaru, who only shrugged and gestured for her to do something.

“What are you talking about?” She asked. “You can’t be saying that because of one word I uttered?”

Bradford didn’t immediately answer. It took him some time to pull back so they were face-to-face once again. As he did so, he released his grip and shifted his hands to her face. Gently caressing it as he studied her features, ignoring the increasingly puzzled look, with a hint of frustration growing in her eyes. 

“Our… our connection. That little bond I try to ignore...” He began to explain. “It showed me… so much. You… You’ve suffered so much… Asaru and I glimpsed that over the years, even more in those… interrogations.” Within a few blinks, tears were running down his face. “I’m so sorry.” He pressed his head against hers. Those hands dropped back down, wrapping around her once again to hold her tight. “I’m so sorry. How long were you calling out to us? To me?” His voice trembled. “As those Bastards tore you apart day and night…”

“What are you talking about?” She received no answer. 

She stole a glance towards Asaru. Explain to me what he is rambling on about?

Asaru was silent for a while. A few sparks of energy cascaded throughout his head as his skull shifted away from her gaze for just a moment. That is a… complicated subject.

Find a way to shorten it. Her thoughts were demanding.

Asaru stretched out a few tentacles towards her and touched her head. The tips glowed a dull blue as they pressed against her skin. 

This will be unpleasant. Asaru gave a brief warning before a few trickles of electricity traveled down the tentacles as they began to glow brighter. 

Jy-Sol dropped her hands down to the bed before she almost reflexively gripped Bradford from the sudden, painful shunt of information into her mind. 

Her vision went dark for a little while before the shared memories ordered themselves and began to play. 

It was Bradford, Asaru, Geist, and others in various locations. ADVENT facilities and high-security storage vaults. Various overgrown or desolated places on the Earth. And some of XCOM’s auxiliary locations; some had survived over the years, untouched by the desolation that befell the Bases. But at each location, it looked like Bradford and Asaru were tracking something. Chasing ghosts. Chasing her.

At first, she was a little confused about how the other locations factored into this, as she had been in the Elders’ hands since she was captured, but as she watched, she began to understand. Each location had a strong concentration of psionic energy and had varying levels of her psionic signature deposited there. 

Just traces of her conciseness, traces of memories that had escaped the confines of the hell she had been subjected to over the many, long years; the first few months to years having her brain scoured as the Elders practiced Their common standards on nearly all of Their slave races. Sometimes, partially aware when plugged into the Network. Other times, partially aware when she was pulled out for “maintenance” or further experimenting and “improvements.” 

Each trace they would find would bring forth a haunting image, a nightmare that had plagued Bradford for many years since he rejoined the remnants of XCOM.

Find me.

Hearing that frail, trembling voice of her former human self chilled Jy-Sol’s blood — she could feel the same feeling deeply embedded in the memories for Asaru and Bradford. She could see herself. If she could even call the emaciated and broken body her own to begin with, or even human. Her form seemed to flicker back and forth between various states. Some were much worse than others. Some showed signs of Hybridization and her eventual conversion into a Chosen.

I know the process to create my siblings and I is not kind… but this… Did any of them go through this? Jy-Sol questioned, keeping the thoughts to herself.

She continued to watch the memories. Watch as it seemed Asaru and Bradford could react to the faint psionic projection of her broken self and comfort her. The embraces never seemed to last long enough for Bradford’s tastes.

I… I have no recollection of any of this. Jy-Sol tried searching through her mind for anything like this, but only drew blanks. Her brows furrowed as she chewed on her tongue. A sharp exhale left her nose. What did John find that I cannot?

Thank you, Asaru. Please end this. She sent a thought to him.

It took a while before he brought the memories to an end and retracted his tentacles. 

She still found herself in Bradford’s tight grip. His breathing was still shaky. A whispered “sorry” slipped out here and there. 

Hm. Releasing her death grip on the bed, she flexed her hands a few times before she brought them to his face.  She gave a gentle push, but he refused to budge. 

“John.” She said softly. “I need some breathing room so we can talk.”

The man grumbled. Taking in a sharp breath, his grip tightened before he relaxed and pulled back. A few more grumbles slipped out. He tried to turn his head away, but she kept him facing towards her. 

“Asaru showed me what you were talking about. The projections.” She said before whispering those pained words. “Find me.” 

Throat tightening, he reflexively shut his eyes tight and clenched his jaw. He gave no answer. 

“Are there any more layers that complicate your views for Reeves and me?”

Bradford continued to tighten his jaw as the grimace grew. Ears flicking back and forth like his tail, he sharply exhaled. His eyes rolled behind closed lids. “Do you really have to ask that?”

“That would be an understatement,” Asaru added.

“Mhm…” Jy-Sol shook her head. “Would now be the best time to talk about that, or another time?”

“Another time,” Asaru answered for Bradford. “It… it requires a visit to a special location for you to better understand.”

Jy-Sol let out a slow hiss of a sigh. “I sense that it is another issue wrapped up in layers of convulsion and riddled by the twisted handiwork of my former Masters, correct?”

Asaru nodded. “You are spot on.”

Jy-Sol’s brows furrowed and nose wrinkled, not too surprised by the answer. I swear, once the Elders are driven from the Earth, Their handiwork will stain this world for decades.

Jy-Sol was almost lost in her thoughts as she was tallying up the various known, less-known, and unknown projects the Elders were working on and the ones that had escaped Their grasp that would need near immediate attention once the Earth was free from Their control, when she felt something trail down her back a few times.

Before she knew it, Bradford had pulled himself closer to her and was resting his head on her shoulder.

“Jy-Sol…” He whispered. “Back to last night…” He paused, mouth slightly ajar as he searched for his words. “Did you feel anything?”

Back to this? Jy-Sol wasn’t sure why the question annoyed her. “Why are you asking this? You know what I am, who my Creators are.” She didn’t want to answer.

Bradford’s grip tightened. “Did you feel anything?” He asked again. “Just… just tell me. No lies. Please… Don’t hide your intentions from me.”

“John… I…” Jy-Sol’s voice trailed off. She closed her eyes as she tapped at her own feelings. She recalled when she woke up some hours ago. That strangeness and faint fear permeated her body as that programmed indoctrination still raged in its cage. “I… don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” He asked, but felt like he already knew the answer.

“Must I explain from what you have witnessed over the ages concerning the Elders’ handiwork?” Her tone treaded closely to an annoyed sneer. She didn’t wait for an answer. “I… I don’t know. Before the act, I felt nothing. I just wanted to help you and… was seeking answers for myself.” She still felt a pang of guilt admitting her partial deceit. “During… The little mind meld filled the gaps for me, allowing my body and mind to respond in kind to yours. Still… I felt… distant from it all. Heavily disconnected. No true pleasure, ecstasy, or gratification.”

Bradford’s grip tightened again, matching the pained sorrow twisted across his face. “You had to feel something… I know what I felt.” He whispered. She ignored him. 

“After it all… I… I still don’t know.” Jy-Sol’s voice trailed off more than she would have liked. 

Those new feelings fluttered in her chest and plucked at her mind. They made her feel uneasy. Disrupted the carefully crafted lattice of her current personality, breaking those choking coils of indoctrination.

“You and Reeves… were close friends. Closer… than I assumed.” She continued. “Perhaps… perhaps…” Her voice wavered, unsure if she should even voice the thought that just crossed her mind. “She had feelings for you? But was less aware of such things… Consumed by her work. Consumed by fighting to save this world from cruel Masters…”

Bradford’s grip tightened again. Could she have? His mind entertained the thought for only a second before he tossed it. 

No, too dangerous for our line of work. She would have reassigned me to another location within the first month… Unless… But the thought came back. Was she holding it in like me? Did Asaru help her hide it? We did try to downplay how well we knew each other in the beginning… And now I’m remembering Asaru saying he did help past me suppress my feelings when Jynn would run herself ragged when the Elders pressed us…

He squeezed her tight once more before he relinquished her grip. Drawing back, he shifted his hands to her face. They gently cupped the sides as his thumbs gently traced those chitinous growths on her cheekbones. He didn’t hide the hurt in his eyes. Didn’t bother cleaning his tear-stained face.

“What are you feeling right now?” He asked. A pointless question, but he needed an answer.

She only sighed, turning her head away as far as his grip allowed her. “I don’t know. Distant… and conflicted.” She raised a hand to her chest. “I don’t know if I am truly feeling anything… Anything towards you. Everything feels strange and foreign to me. Anathema to my remaking.” 

Her fingers dug into her chest, causing the fabric to bunch up. She said the words that encapsulated the new feelings tearing at her in a near, cracking whisper. “It frightens me.”

Bradford listened to her words carefully. It made his heart hurt and drew forth those dark thoughts that his old friend and love were gone forever. But he felt that faint shift in her being as the truth trickled out.

A deep throaty growl slipped out as his fingers traced her cheekbones a few more times, before one hand slid up and wiped away a tear that slipped out. 

He leaned in, but paused before their lips could touch. He felt the warm breath of hers touch his lips. There was a faint hitch. His breathing hesitated, too. For a few seconds, he stayed closed before pulling back.  

No, not now. It’s… It’s not right. He thought to himself.

“How… how can I help you?” Bradford asked. He held back a snort, but a smile crept across his face as she gave him a puzzled look. “Just think of it as ‘quid pro quo’ for how you helped me.”

A confused and perturbed snorted hiss slipped out from her, and another when he didn’t let her pull back. He’s using my words against me. “John, I don’t think th—”

“There won’t be more sex… unless,” a faint mischievous gleam flashed in his eyes as he shifted, leaning in so close their lips almost touched, but pressed against her body. A little playful growl slipped out. “You want it.” 

A mental thwack from Asaru did not diminish the mischievousness that overcame him with a hint of his new biology pushing those raunchy thoughts in his mind for just a few seconds before the alien wrangled them.

Her eyes twitched for just a second before a nasty laugh, one she couldn’t hold back, slipped out. Bradford released his grip on her just enough to allow her to pull back.

It took her a few minutes to recompose herself.

“Such things to say…” She wiped away a few errant tears that flowed. “What has possessed you now?”

“You can say I’m teetering on that edge again.” He grinned. “And,” he moved closer to her and placed a hand on her chest. He felt her hearts quicken. “I… I don’t want to give up on bringing back the old you, even with the risks. I know I sensed something last night.”

Her eyes became hooded. “John… I…” She still felt that was pointless despite the shifts within herself she had been experiencing.

“Just… Just think about it,” he said. “And maybe…” Adverting his eyes for a few moments, his breathing hitched as he felt a heat rush through his body. His face was turning red. “Maybe… we can make this work in some fashion?” His eyes drifted back to her, slowly looking her up and down. Part of him was still repulsed; he had grown attracted to her Chosen form, but another part had it deeply intertwined with his love for the original her and just didn’t care what she looked like now.

It took a few seconds for it to click in Jy-Sol’s mind. She felt a faint surge of energy in their connection as Asaru applied a few more mental thwacks to his host and could faintly hear the mental thoughts of how exasperated the alien sounded. 

She pressed a hand against her face and shook her head. What have I done? Maybe I fried part of his brain last night…?

Gently tapping at the connection, she tuned into the small argument John and Asaru were having. She caught bits and pieces of some previous fling that Asaru didn’t want repeated, and he was busy hammering in how idiotic entertaining a relationship with the Chosen would be, with how a chunk of the crew still viewed her. Bradford barely had any counters besides ‘they would be careful.’

Moving her hand, she looked at the two. Both were glaring at each other. Asaru had several tentacles surrounding Bradford’s head, all of the tips glowed brightly as sparks of power flowed through the appendages. Bradford’s tail was heartily smacking the bed, with the tip twitching dangerously. His eyes were glowing blue.

Let me stop this before they start throttling each other. Jy-Sol loudly cleared her throat to grab their attention. 

“Ignoring what you just suggested.” She shook her head. Far too dangerous. Bradford looked away as his ears flattened, and his face grew hotter. “I… I just may accept your offer to help me. Perhaps it may bring balance to my fractured soul, even if I may never be able to reclaim who I once was.” She then gestured to Asaru. “He already has a few ideas he wishes to explore.”

Bradford cast a look at Asaru with a raised brow. The alien nodded and then gestured for him to say something.

“Sounds,” he let his eyes wander for a moment as he was carefully searching for his words, “sounds like a plan.” He smiled.

“So be it.” She nodded with a faint smile.

“Now,” a faint ping rang out as a small flash of blue appeared on the bed next to Bradford. It was a shirt and some pants. “It’s about time I took you back. Though if you wish to freshen up before doing so, I can show you to the lavatory.”

Bradford looked at the clothes for just a moment before his nose picked up on the faint peppery musk and something much stronger coming off of him. He closed his eyes tightly. 

I am still getting used to this. Wonder if I’ll smell as bad as those Mutons after a fight. Ugh… still remember how one smelt when those Reapers were doing field dressing that day… 

He reached over and grabbed the clothes. “A shower sounds… nice.”

She nodded and got up. “Then follow me, please.”

Asaru merged back with him before he got up and followed Jy-Sol.

————————

Jy-Sol showed him the lavatory and shower. She fetched whatever he needed before she would leave him be. Not before teasing him if he needed another round of relief, with how she could sense some tension within him through their bond.

Neck mane flaring, the offer was tempting as a flood of errant thoughts nearly clouded his mind before he and Asaru could wrangle them. He nearly yelled at her for making such a joke. A part of him wanted to seize that offer, but he didn’t need his feelings for her to be more muddled before several issues could be sorted out. To his annoyance and surprise, even Asaru found the teasing to be funny.

Bradford took his time in the shower, mostly to relax his mind and order his thoughts. The hot water felt great against his back muscles. And he was having deep discussions with Asaru. What would they tell the crew? What would they tell Maker? There was so much to factor and balance. Nobody could know the truth, or there would be hell to pay.

“I roughly know how several crew members would react. But with Maker? I am having trouble predicting his reaction.” Asaru said. He had separated from Bradford once again and was floating in the corner, enjoying the steam building up in the room.

“Same.” Bradford nodded with a faint grumble. He could clearly picture the accusations of mind control and mutinies that would break out with the crew. But with Maker… he was stumped. “I know he’ll be ticked if any of his delicate work is thrown off.” A faint grunt slipped out as he felt Asaru probe his body.

“Everything feels fine from what I can scan.” He said. “But there is a chance something was thrown off.”

“For Jy-Sol’s sake, I hope not.” He wasn’t in the mood to hear Maker go on a rant and didn’t want to see Jy-Sol be ‘punished’ by him. Corvo had told him of the details of when Jy-Sol nearly interrupted his treatment when the psionic excursions began.

His very power tears him apart every second, but he is still powerful and can control it.

Just as Bradford was slipping off into a brooding mood, a few pokes to his brain made him look at his companion.

“What?” He asked, letting himself sound much more annoyed than he actually was.

“Have all those impassioned feelings finally left your system, now?” Asaru asked, playfully thrusting a few of his at the man’s head. Bradford swatted them away. “Maybe you should have taken up her offer? You did kinda suggest it before her.”

“You know.” He growled before a grumble slipped out. “Mostly… And don’t.”

Asaru snickered. “Expected. And I expect it to keep fluctuating, even if Maker can correct this.” He tapped his head a few times. “Just have to figure out how to keep everything locked up tight. Our bond is still shifting due to your new biology, so I can’t guarantee I can fully suppress those feelings.”

“Don’t remind me.” An annoyed sigh came out. “It’s all… simmered down. Partially because of what emotions she says she lacks, but I still felt something there.”

“I sensed it in your memories. And there is something faintly changing within her. Old, oppressive chains being cast away one by one.” Asaru said. “In due time, with future exploring, we will figure this out.”

“I hope so. I really hope so.” A faint part of himself wanted to give in to those bleak thoughts. He shoved them into the corner. He wouldn’t let them win until all ventures had been explored.

“Now hurry up.” Asaru jabbed his body a few times. “Don’t need you becoming a prune before we’re back to the main facility.”

Bradford rolled his eyes as he swatted the tentacles away. “Five more minutes. And you’re enjoying the sauna.”

————————

Eventually, Bradford finished his shower, dried himself off, and put on some new clothes.

“Huh, made a place for my tail.” He mumbled as he examined his backside in the mirror, noticing the tailored hole for the tail. It was comfortable. He would keep it in mind for the changes that needed to happen to his wardrobe. 

As they headed back to the main chambers, Asaru merged back with him.

As he turned the corner, Bradford had to raise a hand to his face. The atmosphere was much brighter than before. It took a few seconds, but he saw the reason why. The curtains were open, and Jy-Sol was gazing at the immaculate snow-covered view outside the window.

As he came closer, he noticed her posture slightly shift. Just that ingrained programming and training that always had her ready for a threat. Not as light-footed as her.

“Nice view.” He said as he stood beside her.

“Mhm.” She nodded. She let her eyes linger a little longer before she looked at him. She gave him a quick look up and down, noting a faint wet sheen they clung to that light layer of fur. “Ready to go?”

He nodded. “Ready to face the reaper.” Just a little jab at Maker.

Jy-Sol’s mouth twitched as she fought a grimace; she slowly bit her bottom lip. “I hope Maker is understanding… I miscalculated how long we would be gone… And then everything that happened….”

Bradford placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed it. “We,” his eyes flashed blue, “make sure he understands.”

Her eyes darted away. It took a few seconds for her posture to relax. “Thank you.” 

“And the same with the crew,” Bradford remembered the other issue. A rough snort slipped out. “Corvo better have kept his trap shut…”

She raised a hand to stifle a laugh. “I believe he has, but you know how news quickly gets around. Your crew knows that we disappeared, but I believe they do not have the finer details. He and the other Senior staff have had their hands full.”

He left out a brief mhm. “That’s better than them knowing the details…” But he couldn’t help but think of the massive headache he was going to have to deal with once he was back on the Avenger.

Just as his mind was delving into the possible disciplinary actions that he and the other Senior staff would have to dispense, a faint tingle in the air and a hand on his shoulder made him snap to. He looked over to Jy-Sol. Her eyes were glowing.

“Well then, should we get going?” She asked as visible energy began to appear around them. He nodded.

With a mere thought, the two disappeared with a ping. The length of the trip was as quick as when she had whisked them there the evening before.

————————

Within a few moments and another ping, they appeared in the room that was Bradford’s current “home.” It was quiet, empty. The lights were fairly dim before the automated systems detected movement and slowly brightened the room.

Jy-Sol took her hand off his shoulder and stepped away. Just the faintest amount of dread crept over her suddenly as the room brightened and she felt shifts in the ambient psionic energy. Her eyes darted back and forth, ignoring Bradford and Asaru’s concerned questions on why she was moving away so suddenly. Just as she was pushing a thought to teleport back to her room, she found her pathways blocked.

“Oh no…” A faint, fearful whisper slipped out as her fingers arched. She flinched when she felt it before she heard it. A concentrated, crackling wave of power.

With a flash of red and purple, two distorted pings rang out near the entrance of the room. As the chaotic energy faded away, there was Maker with two of his shellbodies whose eyes were burning bright with power. Faint wisps of energy cascaded behind them, slowly taking shape of his true form.

Reflexively, Jy-Sol recoiled, bowing her head to avoid his eyes, as she could feel part of the judgement wicking away from her Master, but could not sense his thoughts. Leg muscles twitching, that in-built conditioning was yelling at her to kneel and bow her head in shame, but she knew Maker always hated that.

“Jynn…” Bradford whispered as he noticed her movements and could feel the fear striking at her heart in their bond.

Seems even this good Elder can terrify her… Asaru noted.

Bradford carefully eyed Maker before he found his body moving on its own to put himself between Jy-Sol and the Elder as soon as he saw Maker taking hasty steps towards them, before the hissed out questions with harsh, echoing inflections came out. The silhouette behind them shifting, bringing forth his spindly arms to make accusing gestures, did not help.

“Where have you been? What have you done?” Both of the shellbodies spoke in unison. It didn’t take long before they reached them. They circle them like hungry sharks — each going in an opposite direction — waiting for their prey to dash away from the protection of the whole.

Bradford’s throat trembled as a low growl slipped out. His eyes shifted back to Jy-Sol, who kept her head firmly bowed with wide, shaking eyes that matched the twitchiness of her body. He then looked back at Maker, focusing on one shellbody, trying to figure out the Elder’s emotions. He could tell the Elder was still annoyed from her meddling, but anything else, such as anger or wrath, he couldn’t properly pick up. The Elder’s damaged psionics made it nigh impossible for him and Asaru to reach out and read them.

“Jy-Sol.” Maker said, voice becoming more demanding. “An’xer me.”

There was only silence.

A sharp exhale left one shellbody as both stopped circling, meeting back at one point. “Do not make me utter the words.”

I think I know what he means by that. Asaru said to Bradford before flashing the memories pulled from Corvo concerning what happened while they were being treated. Though it was only the Chosen’s three personal guards affected by the words Maker uttered that day.

“She meant no harm.” Bradford quickly said as he noticed Maker open his mouth once more. He placed a hand on his chest. “I’m equally at fault.”

That mouth hung open for a moment before closing. A brow raised in return. Maker’s eyes narrowed as he began to scrutinize Bradford from head to toe, faintly probing the man.

Bradford winced as the probing was unrelenting. Pressing various points on his body and brain, rousing a few memories past his mental security blocks that the man would have wanted to keep to himself. The Elder rarely pushed past such boundaries, as he was constantly monitoring the Bradfords’ health, but this probing showed no gentleness or care for those boundaries.

It continued for an uncomfortable amount of time before Bradford pushed back when he felt Maker dig a little too deep concerning certain memories.

Maker was unfazed. The glow in his eyes dimmed just a fraction. 

“Equally?” Maker questioned, eying Jy-Sol again.

Bradford took in a deep breath and let out a harsh snort, where a little steam shot out. “Yes.” It was two-fold. He needed to calm himself as part of him wanted to strike out at the Elder. And then he was preparing himself for the Elder’s reaction if he was forced to tell the truth. 

Maker began pacing again, both bodies going their separate ways as they studied the two. It was just silence and footsteps before the shellbodies reached the same location and stopped.

One raised their pressed together hands to their mouth, as they took in a long, deep breath, before letting out an equally long and sharp hiss. 

“Now,” the one body started, “tell me, what happened?”

“Do not spare a single detail.” The other added.

Bradford bit the inside of his cheek. He glanced back at Jy-Sol. She was still petrified with fear, but he noticed her lips were pulled into a thin line. Tapping at their connection, it didn’t take much for him to pick up the panic mingling with all that fear.

Blindly reaching back, his hand searched around until it found hers. He gently grabbed it before tightening his grip when he felt her jerk away.

It’s okay. We won’t let him hurt you. He sent a message to her. She didn’t respond. That made him mentally sigh.

How much do you think I should tell him, Asaru? He asked his hidden companion for some assistance.

Just enough to paint the picture. And be truthful. I believe Jy-Sol’s fear is not unwarranted. Asaru responded.

“Secure this room. We don’t need any leaks.” Bradford said.

The shellbodies eyed each other for just a moment before looking back at him. Their eyes grew brighter for just a second. “Done.”

“Now,” Bradford let his voice trail off as he tried to figure out how to shift more of the blame to himself compared to Jy-Sol, “Jy-Sol meant no harm moving us to a more private setting to have a deeper chat. I’m to blame for how things went after our chat.” He mixed in some truth with a healthy helping of lies.

Just as the next set of words was about to leave his mouth, Maker abruptly cut him off.

“You two were intimate, yes?” One shellbody asked. “That sudden kiss and continued emotional turmoil were impossible to ignore that evening.” He then waved around a not-too-dismissive hand. “This includes the talk we had some days prior.”

The other let out a raspy laugh, throwing his head back. 

“Uh… uh…” Bradford’s mouth just hung open. It took a second for him to notice Jy-Sol was gripping his hand tightly before he gave a few reassuring squeezes. Before he could send a thought, Asaru did.

Seems like he may have figured things out besides what he saw during that probing. Asaru poked at Bradford’s and Jy-Sol’s brains. But I can’t tell if he’s masking his anger or not.

He—he’s not pleased. I… I know that without doubt. Jy-Sol sent a shaky reply. She had her doubts.

Calm down. Bradford gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. We won’t let him lay a finger on you.

You do not know what he is capable of… He can be like Them if he is pushed. Jy-Sol warned.

“Now.” Maker speaking snapped Bradford out of the mental chat. “I am annoyed… displeased… if that would be the choice word to describe my current set of thoughts, as I do not like for my delicate work to be disturbed before it is finalized.” Maker’s eyes narrowed for both shellbodies. 

“But,” the other shellbody spoke and raised a hand so swift it made Bradford take on a defensive stance, causing a few of Asaru’s tentacles to manifest. “I am… pleased Jy-Sol disturbed my work.”

Just as they were prepared for a torrent of energy to strike Jy-Sol, instead, confusion struck Bradford and Asaru, causing their defensive position to falter.

Pleased?  The two voiced mentally before Bradford looked at Jy-Sol. Her head had shifted ever so slightly to look at him. She was just as confused.

“Pleased?” Bradford repeated, this time out loud.

Both shellbodies grinned. One laughed. “My daughter continues to surprise me with her actions, breaking the bounds of the programming my Brethren had instilled in her long ago.” He explained. “Perhaps, not all aspects of her humanity were tampered with or stripped out. Perhaps, they are slowly resurfacing. Regenerating.”

One shellbody tapped at its lip as it looked around quizzically. “Now, was it her or you that suggested the intimacy? Hm?” Both bodies eyed the two.

Jy-Sol shrank behind Bradford even more.

Bradford’s body stiffened as his mouth opened. “Uh…” He wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell the truth or a lie.

After a few moments had passed, Maker made a dismissive wave. 

“It does not matter who proposed the idea. The deed is done.” He laughed. But as quickly as the laugh came, it stopped as both bodies narrowed their eyes. Energy began to radiate from their eyes, causing the ghostly silhouette of his true form to become more opaque. Shimmering like psionic fire, flakes of skin began to come off one shellbodies’ face.

“But to entertain such an idea…” Just a faint growl slipped out, which distorted his whispered voice. There was a spike in his power that made everyone flinch.

Here it comes… Jy-Sol thought as she prepared herself for that torrent of energy that was sure to strike her.

“Did you two not think of the lines you would be crossing with everything that is at stake!?” Maker chided them like they were unruly children. A few sparks of chaotic energy left his mouth, fading as quickly as it emerged, but nothing more.

He continued to chide, equally reaming both for throwing caution to the wind and for jumping to sex as a way to broach the complicated history between the two, or whatever that notion was supposed to help or solve for Bradford. He didn’t let either get a word in.

“To hang everything on a ludicrous if of an idea is madness.” He shook his head. “Especially for you,” he made a pointed jab at Bradford, “after the discussion we had the other day. Such… foolishness to attempt to solve an aching heart... You are lucky your comrade Corvo knows discretion. If the others of your group find out about this folly, it would be a disastrous, cascading fracture that would threaten the Resistance as a whole.”

Bradford pressed his tongue against his teeth. Maker had several points. Part of him wanted to go back in time and stop himself from entertaining the idea. Now, he was trying to think of what he wanted to say. He still didn’t want the Elder to know that Jy-Sol came up with the idea.

Damn my aching heart and new biology… Wait… yes, that!

Carefully with how you approach that. Asaru warned.

Bradford let out a snort. “Well, your delicate work has my brain clouded.”

Maker’s eyes flashed red as he raised a brow. “Explain.”

Bradford gestured to himself from head to toe.“Getting used to my new biology. Seems I have a higher libido than normal. A human normal.”

“Is that so?” Maker asked, there was a faint hint of doubt in his voice, though he recalled how that evening went. The glow in his eyes increased, but he did not probe.

Bradford was about to speak when a few thoughts and memories from Asaru came to his mind. Thanks, forgot he said that. Should knock that doubt out of him. “You said you noticed my emotional turmoil, correct?”

Maker’s nose wrinkled. “I did… Perhaps…”

One shellbody stepped forward and raised his hand slowly before releasing his power, letting several bands of energy travel over to Bradford. Bradford grunted as there were several pushes and pulls on his being.

“Perhaps… I… underestimated… how the core species would intermingle with your human DNA and play off of each other….” He spoke as his voice trailed off into a mumble. A few faint chides directed to himself slipped out, missing something like this. He rubbed his chin before he continued to mumble under his breath. Fingers tugged at his chin as he turned his head to the side. “I still have more to learn about the Akaraks, if it is possible…”

Recalling his powers, the shellbody took a step back. “I see I will have to make some tweaks before I can release you.”

“How are you currently feeling?” The other asked, before making a gesture towards Jy-Sol. “Especially towards her.”

Bradford glanced at Jy-Sol, who was still hiding behind him, but could feel less fear gripping her, before he looked back at Maker. 

Be truthful. Asaru poked his brain. The man rolled his eyes.

“Better. It… it’s more subdued now… but…” He looked back at Jy-Sol. Letting go of her hand, he raised his to touch her face, letting his fingers gently slide across those chitinous plates on her cheek. She flinched. He sighed.

 There was still disgust towards her being a Chosen, but that burning love for her was smothering the more vicious thoughts. Despite everything… she’s still in there, just buried deep. “I still have a passion burning for her. Both the old and new.”

“Hm.” Both shellbodies tapped at their lips. 

“Intriguing.” One body said.

“Dangerous.” The other added.

“It will be...,” one paused before they both began to speak in unison, “interesting to see how this will unfold and blossom. Reshaping the both of you. Or should I say trio?” A faint chuckle slipped out.

Bradford’s brow twitched. Jy-Sol choked before letting out a confused snort.

Is he… encouraging us to continue what he just spent a few minutes scolding us about? Bradford sent a thought to Jy-Sol.

I… I do not know. Jy-Sol was equally as baffled. She wanted to reach out to Maker to get a better read, but was still too afraid.

It seems he may be. Asaru joined. I’m… sensing… genuine intrigue from him mixed in with all of the disappointment and exasperation directed towards Jy-Sol. But… He paused for a long time. It seems like he wants Jy-Sol to continue down this ludicrous path to reconnect to her human self… If my interpretation is correct.

“What are you getting at, Maker?” Bradford asked, not holding back a growl of annoyance.

One shellbody inclined its head to the side as he folded his hands together. “I do enjoy being cryptic, but we both know you understood what I said, just fine.”

“And if I didn’t.”

Maker only laughed before tapping at the side of his head.

No point in trying to play dumb. Asaru said. Bradford only grumbled.

“You two understood just fine. But her.” Maker’s focus snapped back onto Jy-Sol like a targeting array. She flinched. “Do you understand, Jy-Sol?” He wanted to raise a hand — and with a swift gesture — move Bradford aside as if he was nothing. But he was allowing her that buffer. That hint of safety.

Bradford glanced back at her when he felt her flinch again. Her eyes were closed tight as her throat trembled. He grabbed her hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze.

 I can talk for—

“I… I do not believe it would be wise to… extrapolate on… the dangerous gamble… that… happened.” Though her voice was wavy, Jy-Sol forced the words out, forced herself to step out from behind Bradford, but she did not meet Maker’s gaze. “I… let curiosity and hubris get the best of me, thinking that I could sate his carnal desire for a dream long lost.”

Jynn! Just a glint of concern flashed across his face as he picked up that she was blaming herself.

“The gamble… failed. As I strongly believe you have deciphered that due to…” Her voice trailed off to a mere whisper before picking up again. “Nothing was mended. Only more troublesome threads came unbound, rousing more… questionable,” and she shot Bradford an annoyed glance that made him raise a brow in turn, “feelings rise. Feelings that could endanger the Resistance…” Finally, she raised her head, slowly, to meet Maker’s gaze. “I am… sorry for my folly.”

“Mhm.” Maker nodded as he listened to her. “And that is all?”

“Yes.”

“Is that all?” He repeated, voices changing in pitched causing a thrumming echo to follow; his eyes glowed brighter. 

“Y-yes!”

Maker’s eyes became hooded. “Do not make me use the words. You are withholding important information.” The silhouette of his true form drew forth an arm and pointed at her. The lights in the room flickered as psionic energy crackled around the shellbodies, causing the face of one of them to deteriorate faster as glowing splinters cracked across its skin akin to shattering pottery. “A shift has occurred within your being as much as his. Breaking and loosing chains forced upon you. AN’XER ME. SPEAK. THE. TRUTH. CHILD.”

The fear that flashed across Jy-Sol’s face was brief. In an instant, she dropped to her knees and prostrated herself before Maker. 

Fearing the worst, Bradford was about to move, but found Asaru restraining him. Maker raised a hand in response, barely casting a glance at him.

Wait. Asaru said, though the slightly higher pitch in his voice gave away his worry. She did it of her own accord.

Jy-Sol’s voice trembled for but a moment before the words came out, with her speech being split between the Elders’ language, English, and a few other choice alien languages Maker preferred. It was like a rushing flood, barely sparing any details on how she felt when she had awoken the next day. The new and old. How they raged against each other. Far too many of the new feelings and memories were closely connected to the man behind her. It was all strange. It was all… frightening. If more splinters of who she once was came back, would she suffer like her brother Kon-Ris? How long before the conflict grew too much for her to bear?

The glow in Maker’s eyes dimmed as slowly as each measured exhale he took until there were mere glittering sparks of his powers in his void eyes. The energy flowing around him began to disperse, causing the visage of his true form to shift to a hazy, but still lingering state. Both shellbodies looked at each other before shaking their heads.

“Cotalo. So’gov no’vala. Ta Ish’vi Un.” Maker spoke. 

Keeping a hand raised and directed at Bradford, he approached Jy-Sol.  “You inflict more trouble upon yourself than you need to. Frakta… Frakta… Frakta…Vok’thrall’Uvs…” He cursed towards himself, before a sad laugh slipped out. “But you are my daughter… I have instilled too much of myself into you. A touch Hera’tius, my closest friend. And my mentor’s teachings.” 

Turning his hand over, he made a beckoning gesture. “Rise. Do not debase yourself before me, my child. I despise it.” He couldn’t hold back the hiss.

Hesitantly, Jy-Sol shifted to one knee before slowly returning to her full stature, but she kept her head bowed to avoid seeing his face. For a moment, she pulled back when she felt the mere trances of power touch the underside of her chin. 

“Raise your face to me.” Maker said with a faint, stern inflection.

She almost pulled back again when the sensation returned, but hearing the command made her hold still. 

Slowly, the force, Maker’s true form, made her lift her head. It tilted her head side to side. Maker studied her. Studied those eyes that avoided. Eyes that burned less and less with that purple taint of his fellow Elders. Less of that haughtiness and hate. Though there was a trembling fear — one that stung at his heart.

I cannot ignore the traits I share with the Others, even with the time I spent under the tutelage of my Mentor. Some habits are harder to expunge than others.

  But underneath that fear, there was hope and kindness. And they were burning, burning like that blue that was once her original Gift and connection to Asaru.

I wonder when this change truly took hold? Mere seeds were planted the day she encountered you two and, fortunately, both of you escaped her grasp… 

Maker looked over to Bradford. He wasn’t surprised the man had moved closer. He had a predator’s glare on him; fingers and tail twitching with the fan-like tip fully expanded. Fewer of Asaru’s tentacles were out, but the few that lingered were pulsing with energy.

Perhaps when you formulated that gambit of a plan? What side were you still leaning towards before you “fell from grace.” A gentle chuckle left his lips. I know the Others now wished They never entertained it. Ri’vi…  you are taking the brunt of the Others’ anger and fear, as you saw the “methods of the madness” Jy-Sol planned, but how could you have foreseen it cascading to this? I wonder…

His thoughts nearly consumed him with more treacheries he could spread across the Elder Collective, but more pressing matters made him refocus.

Maker let the lingering wisps of his true form tilt Jy-Sol’s head once more before he let go, recalling the ghostly hand back to himself, and it all faded away.

Maker took in a long breath before letting it out in equal measure. He took a step back, raising a hand to his face to check the damage done to it by his powers.

“A few more hours… for this one…” He mumbled, barely wincing as his finger types brushed against raw muscles. “The others…” He looked over to the other shellbody. 

That one tapped at its chest, holding back a grimace. “Likewise.”

Let me finish this. He focused on Jy-Sol.

“First, as much as you ask forgiveness from me, I ask it in kind to you.” He let out a sad sigh before running fingers through his hair. “As much as the Others like to pretend our Kind is above the emotions of humans and other ‘lesser beings,’ we have them, and it can easily overwhelm and blot out Our better senses.”

Both shellbodies then bowed, hanging their heads low. “And I asked the same of you, Bradford and Asaru.”

“Father…” Jy-Sol whispered, unsure of what to say.

He truly is different than the other Elders. Asaru nodded.

But his mood can be as turbulent as a storm... Bradford said. Despite the hint of doubt in his thoughts, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing and seeing.

“Though,” both shellbodies of Maker returned their previous postures, “I still hold a… tinge… of disappointment and irritation as I rambled before… But… I am pleased. I truly am.”

“H-how?” Jy-Sol cocked her head to the side. “How has my hubris pleased you?”

One shellbody grinned. “Sometimes, questionable methods are the needed key to discover a new path.” He raised a hand and twirled it around. “Will you continue down this path? I cannot say, nor can I direct it. It is up to you.” 

“Maker…”

Grin disappearing into a harsh frown, he then pointed a stern finger at her before shifting it to Bradford. “Though I strongly suggest neither of you entertain the intimacy any further, with all that is at stake. I do not believe for a second you could keep this secret from your comrades, besides such emotions blotting your better senses, AND it would be a horrendous way for you,” that aggressive finger jutted at Jy-Sol again, “to reawaken parts of yourself my Brethren tampered with.”

Jy-Sol flinched back at the gabs before bristling. A faint red tinged her face. His mouth opened, but nothing came out at first. Then she choked when she heard Asaru laughing in his shared bond with Bradford. 

Glancing back, she saw Bradford just as rattled as her, as his tail flicked around and smacked the floor.

“W-w-ell…” Bradford spoke before his voice faltered. He took a moment to clear his throat and a few more to get his tail under control. “We’ll see what we can do.” A gruff snort slipped out. The Elder had several good points, but there were some things he still wanted to explore. 

“But,” Bradford raised a finger, which made Maker raise a brow, “you’ll need to fix my libido first. If it stays like this…” He eyed Jy-Sol up and down. Part of him wanted to move over to her and touch her just to annoy the Elder. Too risky. And then Asaru was knocking at his brain not to do it. “I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”

Maker let out a huff, not one entirely out of annoyance. “Right. That issue. It shouldn’t take too long to correct.” Raising his hand, with a ping, a blood-drawing device with several vials appeared in his hand. “Come,” he beckoned Bradford over, “let me take some samples that I can study. During your next check-up, I will have the solution.”

Bradford went over to him. It didn’t take long for Maker to take several draws and teleport them off to have one of his assistants start the process.

Bradford rubbed his arm before he took a few steps back from Maker. “Anything else?”

Maker snapped his fingers. “Though I am still not releasing you from my care, I suggest you get in touch with your comrades sometime soon.” He then pointed over to a desk and a tablet that rested on it. “You will be able to contact them on a secure network.”

“And you.” The other shellbody pointed at Jy-Sol. “I suggest you make yourself scarce if any of his friends pay a visit. Even though the one called Corvo has been deflecting doubts against you, I cannot guarantee he will be kind if he sees you again.”

Jy-Sol nodded. “I understand. I had no intentions of returning to XCOM’s ship until permission was given after my… stunt.”

For one shellbody, the eyes became hooded. For the other, it laughed. “At least you had and still have some sense before you threw it all away.”

Both shellbodies shook their heads. “Now, I will leave you two.” 

One looked at Bradford. “I will have one of my workers fetch you for your next check-up and test once I am done with my research.”

The other looked at Jy-Sol. “I suggest you return to your chambers… but,” he shrugged, “it is up to you.”

Not giving either a chance to speak, a flash of red and purple erupted around Maker, and with a ping he disappeared.

As soon as Maker was gone, Jy-Sol let out a heavy breath. Her legs trembled for a few seconds before they gave out, causing her to fall to her knees. Her lower arms pressed against the ground as her upper arms clasped at her chest. She took in several shaky, deep breaths.

Though things had ended much more positively than she had expected, it still rattled her.

It took her some time to notice Bradford had kneeled next to her. He had placed an arm around her shoulder. A few of Asaru’s tentacles gently wrapped around her chest — with Maker gone, the alien had separated himself from his host and was floating just behind them.

“You okay?” Bradford asked.

“Really?” Her eyes widened as she shook her head. “No! I am not!” But a tiny, nervous laugh slipped out of quivering lips.

“Sorry, heh, I had to ask.” He said. 

It took a few pulls before he pulled Jy-Sol into a hug. She did try pushing him away before something clicked in her brain to just accept it and let him wrap his arms around her. It was… comforting.

“Sorry… I caused us more headaches than we needed.” Bradford said.

Hearing that made her pull back. Her brows were furrowed. “I’m the one that suggest the sex!” 

“I could have rejected it and just stuck with talking.” He rolled his eyes. “And we really should have stuck with talking.”

“You should have.” Asaru tutted, waving a tentacle.

“Don’t start,” Bradford growled at him. Jy-Sol snorted.

They stayed like that for a little while longer before Jy-Sol began to pull away.

“I should go so you can… regather your thoughts and contact your allies,” Jy-Sol said. She felt Asaru’s tentacles unravel, but she found Bradford’s grip only grew stronger. Her brows knitted together as she found herself trying to pry his hands open, but they would not budge. “John, let me go.

“They can wait,” Bradford said. He tightened his grip, but swiftly softened it when he heard her hiss. “I… I want to talk.”

“Talk?” She questioned, but she glared. “Talk?”

He sighed. “Just talk. I promise!”

“He speaks the truth, though some lingering saucy thoughts are biting at his being,” Asaru said with a faint tease.

“Please…” Bradford groaned, not wanting to give those thoughts a hint of acknowledgement, for fear they would put him in a mood.

“I’m keeping them back the best I can,” Asaru said.

Jy-Sol kept a fierce glare as her eyes brightened in intensity. She probed their connection, probed Bradford’s mind and body. “Hm…” 

They both were being truthful. But those lingering carnal thoughts had her worried. He really was tempted to pounce on my joke of an offer when I brought him to the showers. May Maker help him during his next check-up.

The glow in her eyes softened, but the glare did not. 

“What is the topic of the conversation you wish to converse on?” She asked.

“You,” Bradford said.

“Me?”

“The human you. Jynn… The…” He looked away as he sighed. Guilt ate his heart. “Those conversations you had been trying to goad out of me since your defection...”

Her eyes lit up before they fell. “You… you do not have to do that so soon. Not after the trouble I have caused.”

“I want to. Please… I… Don’t want you to leave just yet.”

She inclined her head to the side. “So you have ulterior motives?”

“I learned from you.”

She snorted.

“So?”

She nodded. “I will stay for a few hours. Or until Maker forces me out. Or some of your men storm the facility trying to find you. I’d…” She drew out the word as she let her eyes wander before settling back on him, giving a playful smile. “Take the latter over the former.”

Bradford laughed. “Think I understand why just fine.” He did not want to see Maker for several hours. “Come on, let’s go over to the bed,” he released his grip on her and started to get up, “don’t want my legs falling asleep.”

“Would the chairs not suffice? I thought you didn’t want to entertain that?” Jy-Sol couldn’t help but tease. Bradford bristled. Asaru laughed. 

“His mind is lingering on that rather strongly for him to suggest the bed.” Asaru couldn’t help be pour more fuel on the fire. He even used a tentacle to catch Bradford’s tail before it struck Jy-Sol — who was already moving out of the way.

“Will you two stop that!” Some tinted steam shot out of Bradford’s mouth. “You are not helping me!”

“Apologies! Apologies!” Jy-Sol covered her mouth with a hand, failing to stifle the snicker slipping out. She got up. “You made it too easy not to pull at those strings and maybe…” 

With swift steps, far faster than Bradford was able to register, she was right on him, wrapping her arms around him. A set around his chest and the other wrapped around his hips. She drew her face dangerously close to his, causing him to pin his ears back. 

“Perhaps, from time to time, I can help you release some steam?” She gave one cheek a firm squeeze.

The man squeezed. His face flushed red. Steam began to trickle out of his nose, and some slipped from underneath his shirt. 

“Jy-Sol!” Asaru’s laughter became nervous. In a blink, he was right next to the two, but didn’t attempt to pry them apart. Several glowing tips encircled the two. “That may be a little too far!” 

“Jy-Sol… mercy… please.” Bradford didn’t move a muscle. A mixture of shock and fear, the slightest movement could set him off. He was fighting so many of his senses. His hearts were racing, heat was coursing through his body at an increasing rate, and he didn’t dare tap at their connection in fear she was being entirely serious.

Jy-Sol held Bradford like that for just a few minutes too long before, with a cackling laugh akin to a hyena’s, she released him and took a few steps back.

Bradford stumbled around before quickly finding his footing. He rubbed his chest, whispered to himself to get his bearings, and whispered to Asaru to get his bodily functions in control. The alien shifted all of his tentacles over to his host and was pushing and pulling away to get everything back under control.

Once he was mostly calm, he looked at her. “Please, don’t do that again. EVER.”

Jy-Sol smiled, squinting her eyes. “I make no promises. It’s an excellent tool to disarm you.”

For the love of… He hated his emotions. And he hated to admit, he kinda liked it. 

He gestured over to the chairs with his head before moving there with Asaru. She followed.

“So where do you want to start?” He asked as he sat down. “What were the questions you’ve been wanting to ask me for a long time?”

“Hm…” Jy-Sol mumbled as she sat down. She had to think. The most obvious one was the beginning. Or as close as the beginning, he could tell her of Jynn’s childhood. She shook her head. Another time for that. That’s too… personal. It may put him in a poor mood. 

“Jynn’s…” She paused. “My… My time leading XCOM…” It felt weird saying that, but it felt right. Perhaps I need to see myself as her more? Embrace that old name instead of ignoring it? “What was it like? Was I always the leader?”

Bradford raised a brow. He was expecting an entirely different question, but nodded. “Starting there…” He let out a huff as both good and bad memories came to his mind. “You did a damn good job leading with everything you and the Sub-Commanders had to deal with. The Council. Fighting on several fronts. Balancing budgets and research. Keeping the soldiers in line. The Elders fielding new units to continue their test…” They really could have ended us from the beginning with their tech and forces. It was a test, and we bit back too hard for their liking…  “Of course, you all had help, but it was endless. ”

He looked over to Asaru before he continued. “I think you may have been in some sort of pseudo-leadership role for some years before XCOM was fully reinitiated. My position was somewhat the same, as I was being transitioned away from my former station after being picked. It was still a shocker that you were my boss when we finally met face-to-face before everything kicked off.”

“She was.” Asaru nodded. “She and several other candidates were being tested as we were monitoring the increased activity from the initial scouting ships that had been in the Sol System for a few decades; those infiltrators were slowly appearing more, and then there were signs that something else was coming from outside the system at an alarming speed.”

“Hm, interesting.” She nodded along, listening carefully.

Jy-Sol continued to listen carefully, comparing anything with her dual set of memories and information she could pull from the Psionic Network. Though her true memories were still mostly distant from her, she had a few flashes that meshed together with the fragments, bringing them back together; it was enlightening. She was getting a better picture of her former human self, as well as XCOM and the Old World before the Elders’ tyrannical rule, and Bradford and Asaru.

The conversation went on for a few hours before Jy-Sol brought it to an end. She had a great deal of information to digest, and Bradford couldn’t put off contacting Corvo and the others any longer. Bradford was reluctant to end the conversation, as some weight was being lifted from his shoulder, and he just didn’t want her to go. 

Before she could leave, Bradford grabbed her hand with both of his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Despite Maker’s warnings…” His voice trailed off as he looked away, only to snort when Asaru smacked the back of his head with a few tentacles. “Maybe we can continue to test the waters?” Another loud thwack made him wince, but Asaru said nothing.

Her face was plain as she studied his, which showed far more emotion than he would have liked. “You still wish to entertain that and tread a dangerous edge? Repulsed and attracted to me?”

He looked away for a few seconds before looking back. “Yes.”

“Madness still grips your mind.”

He cracked a smirk. “I learned for you. Sometimes you need to take a dangerous gamble. And…” He didn’t release her hand as he got up and moved closer to her. He looked her up and down before he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. “You’re still in there… It’ll take some time, but you’ll get your memories back and… blend into the new you.”

She expected the kiss, but didn’t pull back, didn’t flinch. She let him pull away before placing her other hands on top of the one gripping hers and squeezed it.

She shook her head. The madness I have unleashed. But she did smile. “Goodbye, John. We will talk again soon. Get some rest.” With a soft ping and flash of blue light, she left the two.

No answer.

Bradford sighed as he closed his eyes and let his head hang back.

“What am I thinking?” 

“With your emotions and dick more than your brain.” Asaru chided him and smacked his back with a few tentacles. The man yelped. He gave an exasperated sigh as he raised a hand to his bubble-membrane head and rubbed it. “I can’t wait until Maker fixes that.”

“I’ll still have the thoughts… just… less intense.” He admitted, rubbing his back. He felt like it would take decades for him to lose his love for Jynn and move on.

“I know! But that is better than nothing.” Asaru shook his head. “It doesn’t help that she is contemplating entertaining it.”

“She is? She didn’t say anything.”

“Felt it in our connection. It is very subtle since those emotions for her are nearly non-existent, but something is there that isn’t just her wanting to do it for your sake.”

“Huh…” 

“Now!” Asaru clasped both hands together as he reached a tentacle out and over to the tablet that was nearby. He quickly snatched it up and brought it back over, tossing it at Bradford. “Let’s make that call to the Avenger. I don’t want to imagine the hell Corvo and the others have been having to put up with.”

The tablet hit Bradford’s chest with a solid thud. It slipped, and he nearly missed catching it.

“Right… let’s get to it.” It was a conversation he wasn’t looking forward to, but knew it had to be done. “Just hope Corvo kept his trap shut.”

[etherealvoidechoes]

(Rewrite) - U.M.R. (FYL) - Every Decision Has a Consequence... Every Mistake Has a Cost - 6/8

Ao3 Link

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 (Here) | 7 | 8

Approx. 11.5k

The usual violence, blood, language, etc., for my works. Talks of previous suicidal thoughts/ideation in this one. Also need to go back and edit the content labels for Tumblr. Forgot about those >_>

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It was a few days of constant doses of sedatives to keep Bradford under control, even with Asaru attempting to temper his mood.

Maker wisely barred Jy-Sol from his Facility and sent her back to the Avenger for everyone’s safety. Yet, that just made Bradford redirect his murderous rage towards the Elder whenever the alien attempted to work on him.

He just wanted to be angry. He just wanted to break something. He just wanted to kill one of the sources of his 20+ years of pain. What turned his life upside down and robbed him of so much.

But Maker wasn’t one of them. The Elder had been called in some years after the Earth was mostly subdued. A dangerous transfer that bore promising fruits. And he was different from the rest of his Brethren. So, so different…

Something Bradford didn’t want to acknowledge.

After another long sedative-induced sleep due to a semi-successful neck-breaking and skull smashing murder attempt by Bradford —when Maker applied some additional adjustments with small, diluted doses of that genetic panacea of a liquid mixed with Meld and applied something to his spine that would tweak and work out some issues he and Asaru had with their bond — the man had finally simmered down enough that he didn’t near-immediately teleport-lunge at Maker as soon as he sensed the Elder’s presence in the room they kept him in. That reduced a lot of stress, especially for Asaru.

He was still angry and warned the Elder to carefully choose his words. And he gave a strong warning that he shouldn’t let Jy-Sol come near him or he would attempt to kill her. Maker heeded his warnings. 

Even with the man in a tentatively calmer mood, Maker still kept a heavy security presence around at all times as the extensive health checks and tests began. His Enforcer units had proven themselves time and time again in wrangling Bradford, even when a few scuffles led to several broken bones and other heavy damage. They deserved a promotion later.

When Maker felt it was safe, he allowed visits from XCOM and whoever Corvo and the others thought could be of help and not a hindrance to Bradford’s mental state. Which was a mixed bag as the Senior staff was still trying to figure out how to break the news of Bradford’s new appearance. That caused a slew of problems once the news was given, which only increased due to what others said after being permitted to visit Bradford. 

Friendly faces helped the man’s continual sour mood and helped several of the health checks go more smoothly. Though a few individuals tested Bradford’s patience. Whether it be from excessive teasing, someone testing his senses or new appendages, or the man getting caught in a long-winded science-filled conversation as one of their scientists asked Maker a litany of questions concerning the finer details of the man’s hybridization; he wanted to have words with doctors Tygan and Tyler later.

Royce still hadn’t learned to keep his mouth shut concerning Bradford’s new features. 

“Looks like you’ll be getting your own set of bloody devil horns like that bellend Dhay-Vol, Johnny. Brilliant.” Royce snickered. He even brought his hands to his head and made horns with his fingers. “Hope they don’t make you as ornery as the raving lunatic.”

The comment was made when the nodules on Bradford’s forehead had started to show growth. They were growing out sideways and were looking to be broad, but flat.

Bradford answered the joke in kind with a thunderous tail whack to the man’s poor shins. The strike was so hard it echoed.

Royce gasped more than he yelled as he found himself curled up on the floor, vigorously rubbing his legs. Those who witnessed it laughed.

“Serves you right.” Laney, a close friend of Bradford’s, snickered at the man’s pain.

Bradford didn’t want to admit it yet, but it seemed some of his new features were going to come in handy.

————————

It took some time, but Asaru finally forced Bradford to face his inner demons. What he had been denying for months. They were finally in the presence of one being who could finally put this issue to rest.

“Yes, Jy-Sol is your former Commander, Jynn Gresham Reeves.” Raal’Maker said.

The Elder flinched as he felt a spike in Bradford’s psionic signature. A nearby Enforcer’s fingers twitched.

Bradford took in and let out several sharp breaths as his nails dug into his medical pants. His eyes were shut tight like a vice as his nose wrinkled and his lips twisted into a grimace. That tail flicked about sharply.

Straight from the source’s mouth. The one who worked on her extensively with care, compared to the Others. Asaru said.

“Shut up.” Bradford gruffly told his hidden friend. But he couldn’t ignore the truth.

Bradford grumbled some more as he rubbed his face. Countless thoughts were running through his mind. A few murderous thoughts formed, but Asaru swiftly crushed them.

Don’t you dare. His companion gave a faint warning. Maker didn’t need another dead body, nor did the Enforcers need broken bones. 

Bradford snorted as his fingers twitched. Part of him wanted to entertain it, but there were more pressing matters. Some thoughts needed answers.

“Why?” He asked.

Maker inclined his head to the side. “You need to be more specific. There are many ‘whys.’”

Bradford let out a snort. He rubbed his face once more before he let them drop and crossed his arms. He looked at Maker.

“Why did the Elders turn her into one of those damn Chosen?” That had been bothering him for the longest.

“Ah, that ‘why’.” Maker nodded. “Another tool to quell a troublesome Faction on the rise.” He started his explanation. “I am still unsure why They decided to retread the same steps that created the Hunter,” and he couldn’t help be hiss mentioning that, “but I believe They also wanted to entertain some sort of ‘poetic justice’ by having the former leader of XCOM, who gave Them so much trouble during that Invasion that doubled as a test, should be the same one to snuff out the resurgence of said Faction. She would know the ins and outs of how you all once functioned and would swiftly adapt to the new tactics you had been using to survive in the changed world.” He gestured all around him. “As she was already doing that while integrated into the Network.”

He then began to pace back and forth.

“And perhaps, They wished… to test a more mobile platform of the tactical side of the Network. Plans for future conquests. Future wars. All so dangerous. But, it worked with some hitches here and there.”

I have been curious about that. Asaru said. I have noticed, when we were once enemies, how the Troopers and other units that accompanied her would become dazed if her psionics were disrupted.

Maker nodded. “A minor flaw that I did the best I could to keep that disruption limited to her and not feed back into the greater Network.”

“That tactical side of the Network has barely slowed down since she joined us.” Bradford said. That doubt was entering his mind once more.

Maker let out an annoyed sigh. “Do you think my Brethren would not keep records of the many sorties she partook in, skirmishes They have her mentally oversee, and simulations They have her run?” He questioned. He didn’t wait for an answer. “A series of AI now handles her former occupation. There has been some degradation in the information it outputs, as it cannot match her skill. It is missing that human element and traces of you, Asaru.” A sly grin graced his face.

That makes sense. It would explain some strange information we’ve pulled from captured Captains and Network intrusions. Asaru said. To think remnants of my bond with her could cause such an impact… Reminds me of… Mosaic…

Bradford only grumbled as he searched for another “why” he could ask.

Bradford’s nose wrinkled as the next “why” was going to broach closely on those issues that tugged at his heart.

Why can’t that love of mine die? He questioned himself. Questioned that unhealthy love that fueled part of his obsessive search to find her first, compared to the other leaders of XCOM.

For some reason, especially now, it was burning brighter than ever, no matter how hard he tried to snuff it. 

“Why… More so… What did They do to her?” Bradford asked. “Her personality is so… different. And her memories…” He closed his eyes as a pained sigh escaped his lips. Nothing about how she acted was like the woman he once knew. “They’re a fragmented, altered mess.”

“You must break and remold your tools if they are to become useful. For them to be loyal.” Maker answered plainly.

Another energy spike was felt. An Enforcer shifted. Maker raised a hand.

Maker, your words. Asaru warned.

“I will not sugarcoat this subject.” The Elder rolled his eyes. “I sense both of you wish to know the whole truth.”

There was silence. It was enough of an answer for Maker.

“Like it has been done with the Converted Hybrids, and like it was done with Kon-Ris, my Brethren rifled through the memories of your Commander, finding and recording what was useful, altering what could cause potential problems, implanting new fabricated or stolen memories, and destroying what They deemed was unimportant to remold her into her new form and identity.”

“Did you have a hand in any of that?” Bradford asked. There was a faint growl in his voice, making it far more accusatory than what he aimed for.

“Not directly.” A sharp glare met Bradford. “They barred me as much as They could from that part of the conversion process due to my ‘excessive’ concerns about her health. But I fought to make sure the alterations didn’t run as deep as Kon-Ris’.” He soon hissed.

The Elder soon started to pace again and gesture with his hand, with the other firmly tucked behind his back.

“Alter her previous life and occupations, do not fully remove her from them. Alter how XCOM fell. Do not remove that existence. Fabricate new memories of the surrender, that ‘agreement to peace’.” 

Maker continued to ramble on about other memories, real and fabricated; he fought to have a great deal preserved and altered rather than outright removed. 

With each one he mentioned, more and more red energy flowed from his void-like eyes, overtaking the purple. Several pulsating veins appeared on his cheeks. A faint silhouette of his true form began to form just behind him. His helmet was more ornate than most Elders. A custom helmet that signified he came from a different sept and had risen to a high status. 

The upper part of the helmet was like an ornate brazier made of a lattice of stained glass, set between ridges of metal, with carefully inlaid sweeping metal strips. The top of it burned like a cauldron of fire, yet psionic energy was the fire; wisps flicking off of it. Going down, it was open like the more common helmet types, but was much wider and showed two faint glowing orbs pushed against the shadows.

“Create that lie,” as Maker hissed, a spark of his energy shot from his mouth like an angry whip, “she chose to work willingly for ADVENT after the world surrendered, after XCOM surrendered. Create that lie, that You All gifted,” a haughty scoff escaped him, “her that accursed new form due to her ‘loyal’ service.”

The Elder had to stop pacing and leaned against a nearby table as his eyes burned red hot. Roughly clearing his throat, his head swiftly turned, and he spat out a globule of blood. An Enforcer shifted, but a raised hand made them return to their position.

 “Anything…” He took in a sharp, shaky breath as he raised himself back up. Just a faint grunt slipped out as he shifted his shoulders. “Anything to make sure she was more stable than Kon-Ris for when she would eventually fall in combat and be healed anew, the altered memories would hold.”

That explains the questionable memories. Asaru said.

“But not the second set.” Bradford said. “The unaltered, but equally, if not more fragmented memories. You have an explanation for that?”

“I can only assume that comes from the drastic treatments I had to use when her health became questionable again.” Maker said. “The same I used for you two. Perhaps it restored what was altered and tossed? As nothing can truly be fully erased. Perhaps it preserved what my Brethren had yet not touched, obfuscating it so They would not find it? I do not know.” He shrugged. “I know They performed frequent memory checks and light alterations in fear she could become like her brother. I do not know how They did not discover that second set.”

“And how did you?” Bradford asked.

“I was oblivious to them for a long time, like my Brethren, and then I was barred per Our agreement that I would not touch her memories.” Make hissed. Maybe They knew something? “That was before a particular concern from Jy-Sol pushed my hand. She came to me in veiled confidence to scrutinize a particular memory she believed held a key to her current investigations against your Faction. That’s when I discovered the second set as I scratched through the fabricated layers of the first. I still don’t know why they are layered like that and how they came to be.”

“Hm.” Bradford wrinkled his nose. A dead end of an answer. 

How strange. We’ve only done limited probing due to someone’s issues. Asaru mentally jabbed at Bradford, which made the man scoff. But I wonder if a deeper probing could reveal why it is like that?

“That is something for you all to explore when all parties are on the same wavelength.” Something Maker gently encouraged.

“We’ll… We’ll think about it.” Bradford said gruffly. 

“Now, I have a question for you, John.” Maker said as he folded his hands together.

“You can call me Bradford.”

“I have a question for you, Bradford.” Maker repeated his statement with a faint smirk.

Smartass. Bradford rolled his eyes. “What is it?”

“There is another side to that intense hate you have for Jy-Sol. It flows back to the human her. The Reeves. Something from the past that holds your very soul, your heart, in a vice grip. A grip that is at threat of faltering as the truths you have come to learn claw at its very foundations.”

“Cut the flowery language and get on with it.” Bradford growled. He felt like he knew exactly where the Elder was going. He could feel Asaru bracing parts of his mind.

“Very well.” Maker smiled a touch too wide. “The notion is a little foreign to me since my Kind has mostly burned it out of Our culture as it was viewed as a troublesome, useless emotion. Though a select few septs still practice such emotions and notions attached to it.”

“Maker.” Bradford’s patience was growing thin.

“Sorry, I like to ramble. Heh.” He softly laughed as he had a “captive” audience. He got a scowl in return. “You have feelings for her former human self, correct? Romantic in nature?”

Just a flit of blue energy coursed through Bradford’s eyes. His eyes darted to the side when he heard heavy equipment shift and that faint startup charge of a stun lance. 

Maker raised his hand before sharply dropping it.

Bradford took in a sharp breath before letting it out. “Yes.” He was thankful it was just him, Asaru, Maker, and a few of those Enforcers in the room. 

“Hm, mhm.” Maker nodded. “And these feelings are one of the many layers of why you keep Jy-Sol at arm’s length, correct? Why you have a particular anger towards her?”

A misplaced anger. Asaru added.

“Yes.” Bradford felt like he was in one of Dr. Veer’s therapy sessions.

Maker let out another brief mhm as he tugged on his current shellbody’s beard – a thick, wiry mess of white and brown hairs. “I believe I am developing a better picture concerning these conflicting feelings. I will not be able to assist you, as answering the pains in your heart is only something you can accomplish.”

Bradford only grumbled in response. Like he wanted his help. Like he needed another person interjecting their opinions concerning his lost love life. His friends were enough. Asaru was enough.

“Though,” he raised a finger, “I may be able to help in another aspect, yet what I may share with you could very well crush your heart.”

Bradford raised a brow. “What… what do you mean by that?”

“It is two-fold. One: She is not entirely the woman you long for in several multi-faceted aspects.” Maker raised his hands and began to shift them back and forth, making strange symbols. As he did so, his psionic energy released and took form, turning into several geometric shapes — pyramids, trapezohedrons, and many more. “Body, mind, soul broken, beaten, torn apart, used, abused, reshaped… Far too many times for any being to handle…”

Bradford winced at each word uttered and winced more when Asaru went to work quelling that anger that wanted to rise.

“So I cannot say how Jy-Sol would respond if you ever bring this up to her.” He made a few more shapes before letting the last dissipate away as he released like a dove. The energy cascaded into trailing wisps before it fully disappeared. 

“Two.” Maker closed his eyes tightly as his neck tightened, causing a few glowing veins to appear. A grimace of disgust crossed his face. “My Brethren always practice Their common standards on all Their slaves.”

Bradford had to keep from rolling his eyes with the first explanation after he finished wincing. He knew that all too well. Just another aspect that tore at his heart when he learned the truth he wanted to deny for so long. But the second made him raise a brow.

He can’t possibly mean sterilization? Bradford thought. XCOM had known that since the Invasion from the autopsies they had performed. How was that relevant?

Right… that. Asaru immediately got it. Bradford could sense it was something much deeper than what he was thinking. 

“Explain. The second part.” Bradford said.

“I have studied what bits of mankind’s history remain, what has not been destroyed. I’ve come to learn the Ancient Greeks had at least six different words to describe love.” Maker began his talk, if not a lecture, as if he were a professor. “Eros. I believe that intimate, sexual, passionate love is what bites at you. It is something my Kind looks down upon. Wishes to control in others. And We have forgotten in Ourselves.” 

The Elder shook his head. He still wondered at what time, at what part of his species history They took such a bleak path.

“Love is a weakness. Love is a waste. Love is a distraction. It must be ripped out. Erased. Destroyed. Or controlled.” He clinched his fist so tight that the tanned flesh turned pale. “We know what is best. We know how to better species and shape them.” Sarcasm dripped from his lips. 

Then it dropped to a lower, scoffing whisper. “Others will not fail to ascend as We did. Others will not be subject to impossible standards and sacrifices by loveless ‘higher beings’ or ‘gods’.” Oh, the hypocrisy made him laugh. He questioned that history. Was it true? Had They forgotten the truth? Or an elaborate lie to hide Their unsavory actions? How We have become what We sought to escape and hate with great fear. 

As his voice returned to its usual soft, whispered tone, it became bitingly sour. 

“You breed when We permit you breed. Bloodlines lived or died by Our blessed hands. Terrible hands. Everything has its selected, if not, narrowed purpose in Our designs of ‘perfection.’.” 

He took a moment to recompose himself, adjusting his suit and quickly checking for any signs of failure in the shellbody. Just a few psionic veins were pulsating brighter than usual. Otherwise, everything was fine.

“Jy-Sol was not exempt from this. Neither were her siblings. The ‘lusts of the flesh and mind’ would be a distraction. The Elders’ Children did not need that. They were Warriors first and foremost to carry out Their blessed will.” 

He looked away as his eyes narrowed and his lips tugged into a sad sneer. 

“That Eros was burned out completely. Sterilization was another unnecessary layer and more tweaks to their mental states to seal it all away. Additionally, a few other forms of love were also tampered with and seared to varying degrees. A partial Storge remained, yet it was solely directed to Them. They wanted Their children to love and praise Them unconditionally. Yet, there would be no sibling love.” Another scoff slipped out. 

“I still question why They encourage such heated rivalries to the point that the Chosen hated each other and it interfered with their designs to eliminate those Factions they were made to counter. Yet… yet… somehow Jy-Sol and Jax-Rai escaped such tensions and hate.” 

A rumor of a chuckle slipped from his lips. Their genuine friendship was a surprise, and his Brethren cautiously permitting it was another. 

“I can only assume that sliver of humanity I managed to preserve in her helped.”

Maker raised his hand and aimlessly twirled it around as he chided himself for getting off track.

“Where was I…? Yes, yes, yes…” He mumbled. “Eros.” He turned to face Bradford. 

His lips pulled into a thin line as he could see his words were not sitting well with the man, as he noticed the corners of the man’s lips twitched. There were also faint twinkles in the corners of all his eyes.

“Now, she and her siblings are not fully oblivious to the concepts, as such things can be used against your kind and the slave races to induce fear and keep them in line, whether those who live within the gilded cities or those out in the wilds. But they cannot feel it and understand it for themselves.”

He sadly shook his head. 

“So, Jy-Sol would not be able to properly reciprocate such feelings to you if she ever regained her lost self or… if… ever period… Without heavy reconditioning. So, I cannot say how she would react if you told her you still longed for her former human self.”

Bradford kept his focus on Maker for a while longer before he broke eye contact and dropped his head. He raised a hand to face and began to rub it and chase away those tears that wanted to form. Faint patters hit the floor. 

It was a lot to take in. There was a lot he didn’t want to hear.

She’s alive and dead. Part of his mind trekked back to the negative. 

It was a strange, twisted truth he wished wasn’t true. The woman he loved, the woman he longed for, was alive and changed. But that change also killed her.

“Damnit.” He cursed under his breath. Why couldn’t that love die long ago? Why couldn’t it die right here and right now? His heart just ached more.

John… Asaru poked at his mind.

Let me stew. Bradford said. 

Not too deeply now. We don’t need a repeat of your outburst days ago. Maker doesn’t need another broken neck. And I would rather not endure another shocking knockout. 

He let out a throaty growl. Part of him wanted to do that again, though his anger was misplaced. “Thank you, Maker…. I’d like to be left alone now.”

Maker nodded. “Very well. I will give you a few hours before we have another round of tests.”

With a flicker of purple and red in his eyes, the Enforcers nodded and marched towards the exit.

“Call if either of you needs anything.” Maker said one last thing before he left.

Once he was alone, Bradford reclined on his bed and aimlessly stared at the ceiling. That tail of his flicked back and forth, occasionally twitching around its tip.

“Why do I still have these feelings?” Placing a hand on his chest, his nails dug in as he clutched at his heart. “Why didn’t I let them die and let Mena take her place back then?”

Another woman came to his mind. One, he had surprisingly grown close to some years ago, which eventually led to a bit of a fling when he slipped into a terrible, depressive, and self-destructive mood due to terrible findings concerning one of the Sub-Commanders, and it was coming around to that time of the year when XCOM fell. It was messy. He was still surprised that things ended on good terms.

A faint blue glow shone around him. A second later, Asaru emerged from his being and hovered just above him with his legs crossed. His semi-translucent body had a healthy, shiny glow to it.

“The heart can be fickle.” The alien said, plainly. “I’ve seen and lived it many times with my previous hosts. You are no exception.”

Bradford only groaned in annoyance. Something the alien liked to remind him of from time to time. 

“Though Maker believes aspects of love have been burned out of Jy-Sol, I don’t entirely believe that.”

Bradford shot him a questioning look. “Elaborate.”

“Excluding her Watchers and the defected Proxies…” He knew she had true affection for them, but there was some hidden programming mixed in that muddled some aspects. “The time she has spent with us… Though I can’t say how the Eros aspect has been affected, she has picked up a particular fondness and affection for a few personnel who don’t hate her and have formed a mutual respect towards her. Aaaand…” He let the word drag out. His skull shifted from side to side as he thought of what words to choose next. “Truthfully… I believe she knows of the love you have for the old her. Has known for a long time.”

Bradford shot up as straight as a stick, nearly smashing his head into Asaru’s legs if the alien hadn’t moved in time.

“Elaborate. Right. Now.” Bradford said. His brows were furrowed as barely restrained fire burned in his eyes.

A few sparks went off in the membrane bubble that was Asaru’s head. His skull jittered back and forth, as well as his tentacles. 

Shifting positions, Asaru drew himself to Bradford until his head was mere inches away from the man’s face. 

Bradford didn’t pull back. His ears flattened as his eyes narrowed. All that jittering told him Asaru was silently laughing; he could faintly feel it.

“You,” raising a finger, Asaru tapped on the side of Bradford’s head, “have let that bitter, bitter side of you cloud your mind and ignore my observations.”

Bradford let out a growled snort. It wasn’t a threat. “You were also skeptical of her ‘defection.’”

“It was a fraction compared to your avalanche of hate.” The alien tutted. “Through monitoring her actions and those careful interrogations before you,” that offending finger poked harder, making Bradford wince, “went too far, I noticed some things. Speaking of that interrogation…”

Asaru poked the man’s head a few more times before he flattened his hand against the side of his face and brought up another to do the same on the other side of his face. For his lower arms, he rested his hands against the man’s chest.

A few sparks fired off in Asaru’s head before his soft blue aura glowed brighter.

Bradford froze as he felt their connection intensify. He felt several tugs on his mind before something buried deep in his memories unraveled and rushed to the surface. He froze in shock as he felt uncomfortable emotions rise along with what was unleashed. His eyes blinked against his will, blinked to get rid of tears that were already running down his face.

No… It only took a second for Bradford to realize what his companion was about to do.

“No!” Bradford threw his hands forward desperately against Asaru’s chest to try to push him away. The tail even swung around and whacked the alien’s side. The Ethereal barely budged.

“Shh.” Asaru gently hushed him as he pushed the man down. A few tentacles quickly subdued the tail. “You’ve been avoiding this again for a long time. Tried your best to ignore them with our strange treatment. So, let’s revisit that interrogation, that day, that depressive month, and all those messy, messy memories.”

“No… Please…” Bradford whimpered out a pitiful plea. If he could have turned his head away, he would have. “Don’t do this to me… I-I… I can’t…”  He felt that twisting, nauseating vice grip his stomach. The weight of all those depressing years, before and after he rejoined XCOM, crashed against his chest and clawed at his mind. “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” Asaru gently encouraged him. “You are stronger than you think. Now, don’t resist.”

————————

Memories. Countless memories were being dredged up by Asaru. Memories Bradford didn’t want to see, and for some, he wanted to be blotted out. 

Some were more lively than others, recounting the good and the bad days. Others were blurred, naturally forgotten due to time, age, and alcohol abuse. And others were locked away and clouded over, wishing that they could be forgotten forever. 

Why did I never tell her when we were in high school? Why didn’t I tell her in those letters and emails years later? Why didn’t I tell her after her grandfather’s funeral? Why didn’t I ignore regulations and just tell her when we met again?

A few memories of his high school years came to his mind first. How he became friends with Jynn’s brother, Charles, before her little brother introduced him to Jynn. How they became a close-knit group, and it eventually extended to their respective families. 

Sometimes, Bradford questioned why he didn’t tell Jynn back then. Her brother figured it out pretty quickly and relentlessly teased him about the crush, but never said a thing to his sister out of respect.

Even when they parted ways after high school, he still had his chances to tell her, but never did. And when they met face-to-face again by sheer chance, she was his boss. Rules and regulations needed to be followed. He wasn’t going to chance either of their positions with a confession, and it was already a pain to convince the Council that nothing was going on between the two once their previous friendship history was learned. Well, he tried his best. 

A rumor about him and the Commander being “overly close” was started by some grunts and just refused to die. Jynn was annoyed but ignored it. Typical nonsense she expected to deal with in her position. Bradford did mostly the same until one grunt pushed too far post a mission debriefing, and for some of the higher-ranking staff, it looked like there was a fraction of truth to the rumor. At least they had enough sense not to pry too much or just treated it as a joke, much to Bradford’s annoyance.

But occasionally back then, and sometimes now, his mind would think of a few hypothetical scenarios of what would have happened if he had told her. The positives came first. Would she hear him out? Would they play a dangerous game and keep things under the table? Or would they wait until the war was won? If that was even a possibility…

But sometimes his mind would plague him with the negatives, especially now. She would ignore and dismiss him back to his duties, as if the conversation never happened. She would be disgusted and chew him out. She would swiftly reassign him to another base. Or she would strip him of his position and dismiss him from XCOM entirely.

Back then, he would never get a chance to toy with the idea.

I should have told her before that day…

The day the world truly went to hell. The XCOM bases were being overrun. He saw so many friends and colleagues turn on each other, kill each other, and those aliens destroyed so much more. And then his old friend, his best friend, was captured before his eyes, and he could do nothing to stop that. All he could do was save himself and anyone he ran across. Then those countless years of hiding began.

Those old memories he kept locked away in secure vaults were tearing at Bradford. Bitterly tearing at his heart. He hated them. Hated them so much. They were the start of the worst years of his life. How he let despair, bitterness, and anger shape him as he did what he needed to survive and be a thorn to the world’s new overlords. The little crew he slowly came to amass over the years didn’t help until he came across a few XCOM survivors, who knocked some of that cynicism out of him when they joined. But it wasn’t enough. It took meeting a proper crew of the emerging XCOM and that radio call from the late Dr. Shen to revitalize his old self and some hope in his heart to get him truly fighting again. 

Rejoining came with its own headaches. It didn’t take long for him to get shoved into that role of leader to be the Commander; it didn’t feel right to him, even more so when it was discussed only to those that needed to know at the time, there was a chance that Jynn Gresham Reeves and the Sub-Commanders below her were alive and captured. But there main focus was for Jynn, even more so when Bradford told them he could clearly recall even with her mind being attacked like so many others, she was trying to get the situation back under control and it was working before that new model Muton beelined for her, viciously knocked her out, before tossing her over its shoulder and quickly made its escape. He still wished he could have done something to stop that. Anything. 

Then those terrible nightmares began, not too long after the search for the Commander truly began. Several he didn’t share with anyone until he was forced to do so, as sleep deprivation was getting to him and he was on a whole different level of crabbiness that put their usual skeptical and cynical crew members to shame. But he kept certain nightmares to himself for a long time, ones that shifted, almost as if they were updating in real time. They stayed close to his chest until Dr. Veer joined the crew and learned of it. Only then did he share it with a select few others, and he had them swear to secrecy about it. Eventually, he had to have a close Templar contact lock them away so he could function without having his sleep disturbed so often. 

“Find me.” Damn it. Why? Why? Was I truly getting glimpses of what happened to her over the years?

There was something wrong about those nightmares. They were too real. Too vivid. It took some years for him to get the answers to why he was having those shifting nightmares and why they would increase in intensity from time to time, in different regions across the world. Asaru. 

He nearly throttled his blue companion a month after their fateful meeting when they finally had time to discuss in more detail who the alien was, why he was bonded to the Commander, why they split, and what he had been doing over the years, avoiding the ever-hounding eye of the Elders. The alien had apologized before when they first met, and he lightly explained things, and once again when more details were shared. Asaru wasn’t entirely sure why Bradford got the brunt of his calling out for anyone he had planted subconscious psionic seeds to better keep tabs on XCOM’s members and soldiers around the base and beyond, but quickly theorized that since he was more or less the Commander and Sub-Commanders right hand, he had a stronger connection than most.

The nightmares were more like terrible visions. Glimpses of the horrible tortures she suffered under the Elders as Their puppet… and now we know the conclusion to her unfortunate capture. 

Bradford’s mind still didn’t want to accept the truth that was laid before him countless times over the months. Even more so now under the care of Elder Raal’Maker. He just didn’t. His heart didn’t. It was just too much. 

You need to learn how to accept the truth. Asura’s voice echoed in Bradford’s mind. What you do next after that is up to you, but for our bond to function and for us to do our duty, you must overcome this. I do not want a repeat of previous hosts when we began to disagree, whether known or unknown. I don’t want a repeat of what happened with my first, though the circumstances of our bond were quite different; his past and the tragedies he suffered shaped his character. 

The first host. The unwitting host. Bradford knew exactly who Asaru was speaking of. William Carter. He had seen their memories. A hard-working agent, but a terribly self-destructive man due to the tragedies he suffered. Tragedies tied to the current time period and circumstances with the Zudjari invading the Earth, nearly cost the world greatly. 

Asaru barely held any animosity toward the man now. So much had happened. And Asaru had no clue who he was himself until he met another like him. He just wished Carter hadn’t killed Shamash as the truth was unfolding, and he was just about to convince Shamash that her plan was unsound. And he could have learned so much of her about what their kind was.

Bradford didn’t entirely blame Carter for his actions. In a way, he saw a reflection of himself. In those dark, depressive years, he teetered back and forth between wanting to give up and live some sad, meager life hiding every day for survival or end it all – whether it be in some blaze of glory, drinking more than his usual share of alcohol and popping some pills of questionable origin, or kissing that trusty shotgun he used for so long. 

Sometimes he wondered where he would be if he didn’t have the dysfunctional crew he led and the few fellow survivors that joined him. Where he would be if he hadn’t crossed paths with XCOM and that new blood, and if his fellow survivors hadn’t convinced him to track them down after he initially dismissed them. Where he would be if he hadn’t crossed paths, missed that radio call those new XCOM members were answering, and he heard that old, old voice of the late Dr. Shen. Where he would be if he weren’t greeted with familiar faces when they went from safe house to safe house until they reached the Avenger. That day was something else. He felt like he was dreaming when he saw the late Dr. Shen again and so many others. 

And where would I be if we hadn’t crossed paths with Asaru?

The thought crossed his mind as well as the memory. He was already in a poor mood that month, as that one horrible nightmare that should have been locked away was plaguing him again. And then that short projection of a vision he saw that caused him pain. If he hadn’t reluctantly let their Templar allies take a look at his mind after that, they would have missed Asaru. 

Still wonder if Geist’s choice of me being Asaru’s host was right… But he’s helped me so much. 

The initial few weeks to months of his and Asaru’s bond were rough. They were still getting used to each other’s habits and Asaru’s damage, which required them to split ever so often so he could rest in an elerium gas-filled tank or temporarily bond with their resident Templars. Then Bradford didn’t care to listen to Asaru from time to time regarding his health, whether it be some brash actions out on the field or the drinking habit he would occasionally give into, until one bad op got him considering his wellbeing – both physically and mentally – since he was more or less the Commander for XCOM until they found Jynn or the others. 

And then you finally helped kick that drinking habit… Mostly. You and Mena, after those rough series of months, after that find…

He didn’t like to think about what was found in the old Nigerian base. Destruction that made his mind bleed back to the fall of the Main HQ in America. There were so many decayed and mummified bodies. So much dried blood. So much blood around torn scraps of a once pristine uniform and a bloodied name plate. Seaver. Thaddeus Seaver. Another close friend he made when they met for joint training operations. 

Scans couldn’t find a trace of the man’s body in the destroyed base. But with the amount of blood they found, things were looking bleak. Combining that news with another promising search for Jynn turned bitterly sour, and it was coming around that time of the year XCOM fell, put Bradford in a horrible mood that Asaru barely could shake. 

It was a dangerous gambit, but getting off the Avenger for some months with a carefully selected crew of operatives to do some intensive quid pro quo work for the Void Walkers helped the man’s mood. Slowly. There were a few times Asaru and another had to fight to keep Bradford away from the bottle, and the man managed to give himself alcohol poisoning more than once during that time. Things grew worse again when they ended up back in America. Part of him wanted to visit the old Base, and another part loathed the idea and won out. That put him in another tailspin that just about reached its destructive crescendo. 

Sometimes… I wonder if we didn’t have to do business around that part of Florida, would we have run into that old Haven we helped those Skirmishers relocate? Would I still be in that self-destructive bent? Worse than I am now? Or… dead?

That old Haven had familiar friends and faces, and those Skirmishers were still around; they were another warm welcome. XCOM and the Void Walkers made it their temporary base of operations as they did work in the region. It was a nice home away from home to regain their strength and decompress. 

Still can’t believe Mena and I hit it off. Wish I had handled that better. I was a mess. She was too sweet for me. 

Love was the last thing he thought he’d find out there, especially with his current mood. He wasn’t looking for it. Truthfully, he was rather heartbroken because the lead for Jynn caused them to discover something completely unexpected and terrible, but still no leads on where the aliens were keeping her or her current condition. But something sparked between him and Mena. Something short and messy that got him considering quitting and leaving XCOM to just live at that Haven. He got into a rather drunken argument with Asaru one night. Asaru didn’t care which way his heart went as he was not about to lose his best compatible host, who also had the brains to lead XCOM. 

Mena overheard us… that was a mess. The following talk and heart-to-heart was worse… for me. Damn it. She was too sweet for me. 

He could barely remember a thing due to how drunk he was, but Mena consoled him. The next few days were also a blur as he recovered pitifully hungover in a bed and had to suffer Asaru and a close friend chewing him out again. Yet, that heart-to-heart conversation got the gears properly turning in his head again. Got his mind back on track. He had to end things. 

Still can’t believe things ended well. I think she sensed things wouldn’t last with my issues and my… my love for Jynn. That was always in the background, even after what we found broke me and made me lose hope.

Bradford considered himself beyond lucky that everything ended on a positive note. It should have ended so much worse. The tumultuous time was the odd kick in the pants that set his head straight and got him taking his role as the de facto leader more seriously, with all searches for the Commander and Sub-Commanders turning up nil or looking grim for certain ones. 

Mena… she was far too kind. Too damn sweet. Listened to me vent so much. Listened to my rants. And those more personal stories about my high school days when I was out of it… Damn it. Why didn’t I tell Jynn back then? Why is she the nail in my heart that refuses to budge? Mena barely chipped at it… Damn it. Why? Why did we have to find Jynn like this?

That thorn of a memory came around. That truth he had been trying to deny for the longest. The Chosen Tactician, Jy-Sol. 

Her. Why? Why? Why? What that? I’d rather find her dissected like some sort of animal over this.

He wanted to deny the extensive DNA scans. He wanted to deny those dangerous Network intrusions they had to do at a high-security data vault, and those interrogations they performed on Jy-Sol with the assistance of the Templars. Those damn interrogations and the memories they revealed. Especially that second set. Delving deeper into those broke him again. 

How long do those bastards torture her day and night with those relentless intrusions to rifle through her memories? She tried her best to fight, but damn… Those Elders personally handled those interrogations after one incident… And then those damn surgeries. So many surgeries to rob her of herself… to make her a pawn.

Many of the memories were disjointed and nearly impossible to follow, but they gleaned just enough to piece together the unimaginable horror Jynn suffered for years before and after she was chipped to run the tactical side of the Psionic Network. Bradford still questioned if it wasn’t the Elders’ partial carelessness in how They handled Jynn that wasn’t the true cause of her deteriorating state, and not her violent separation from Asaru. Asaru said both were most likely compounded to make Jynn’s health deterioration worse. 

And then that choice to Ascend her into a Chosen, all because XCOM had reared its ugly little head when it should have stayed dead, and was actually becoming a concern compared to the other Factions. Factions that hated each other were now collaborating. More Resistance Cells were popping up across the globe. Once, loyal citizens were leaving those golden Cities for the backwater, uncontrolled wastes. And rumors were floating about that XCOM was searching for their former leaders, especially the head. Certain Network intrusions and kidnappings of high-ranking personnel supported that. The Elders couldn’t let this continue. 

She got turned into one of those things because of us. Because of us… Because of me…

As much as he loathed Jy-Sol, he aimed a great deal of it inwards. Would Jynn still have been human if XCOM hadn’t been making strides to get the Resistance going properly? Could they have found her unchanged but damaged by everything the Elders performed on her? It was a thought that constantly ate at him. 

Because of us… of me… The woman I once knew is… gone. It’s a long shot she’ll ever recover her true memories. Like her body… Tch… It’s as lost as mine is now. She’ll never get them back. But the impossible has happened…

He was torn if he wanted Jy-Sol to regain her memories or let them stay lost to her forever. He had seen what happened to those Converted Hybrid that were unlucky enough to have fragments come back to them. Terrible ghosts of the past that ate at the weaker-willed ones until it drove them mad from having two identities crammed in one skull that conflicted severely with each other. Would that happen to Jy-Sol? The hateful side of him wanted her to suffer. The side that longed for his old friend didn’t want her to. And the part of him that loved her wanted them to return so he could finally confess to her. 

Should… should I? I wonder… that old nightmare of a vision. I got to tell that part of her my feelings…

A crazy idea was forming in his mind even before the talk with Maker. There was just a part of his brain nagging for him to finally tell her his feelings, to get it out of his system. Maybe that would finally put that love to rest and give him some closure since she wouldn’t be able to reciprocate, according to Maker. But what Asaru said had him curious.

But what if she… FUCK NO. What am I thinking!? I can’t be seriously entertaining that?

Or more concerned, as part of his mind was being flooded with thoughts entertaining the idea that there was a chance, just a sliver of a chance, that there was enough of Jynn still in here to properly understand and reciprocate his feelings. And if she could…

No, no, no, no. 

Just toying with the idea was rousing strange feelings within him, especially a heat that was currently building in his chest, that he was all too quick to blame on his new biology, which was still being tweaked. 

I am not attracted to that Chosen!

He was quick to deny the feelings. Quick to separate Jynn from Jy-Sol. They were different people. Entirely two different people. There was no trace of Jynn left in that Chosen. He wanted that to be true so badly. 

Some of Jynn peaks through Jy-Sol from time to time. You can’t ignore that forever. Asura’s voice poked at Bradford’s mind again. Bradford cursed at him. She did save us when she could have easily handed us over to the Elders. 

He couldn’t ignore the truth. He couldn’t deny that certain mannerisms and actions the Chosen performed were just like the old her. And he couldn’t deny that it seemed like some of Jy-Sol’s old memories were reforming in spite of his lack of cooperation, which Jy-Sol sought to discuss the past. So maybe… Just maybe…

Ugh… Tch… Damn it. Asaru, I get the point you’re trying to make. We are done here. NOW.

————————

It felt like forever before Asaru pulled Bradford out of the forced memory dive.

Bradford blinked several times as his mind came back to reality. Blinked several times to chase away the freely flowing tears. His hands quickly went up to his face and began to rub it, to make those tears go away. 

“How are you feeling?” Asaru asked. There was the faintest hint of a tease trailing his words. He was still hovering over Bradford with his head nearly pressed against the man’s face. 

“Fuck you.” Bradford said, voice partially muffled by his hands. Asaru only laughed.

Bradford vigorously rubbed his face for several minutes, which was interspersed with a lot of curses and empty threats aimed at his blue friend, before he finally dragged his nails down his face, slowly pulling at his features. He let out one last expletive before his hand dropped to his side.

His eyes narrowed as Asaru was still touching his head with his hands. His eyes darted over to his tail. It was still tightly wrapped by Asaru’s tentacles and twitching.

“Nice try.” Asaru said. He withdrew slightly so he could waggle a tentacle in his face.

 “I hate you.” Bradford growled.

“Only temporarily.” Asaru said, waggling that tentacle again as if it were a sassing finger. “But you very much needed this forced session. I can sense a few shifts in your being. Just a faint hint of acceptance… correct?”

A throaty growl came from Bradford. He closed his eyes tight before he let out a gruff snort. 

“Something like that.” The man winced when he felt a few pokes to the side of his head.

“That is a start. But needs to be better. We need to have a chat with Jy-Sol sometime soon.” Asaru said.

He flared his nostrils, and a little steam seeped out. “You can’t be—”

A tentacle pressed against his mouth, silencing him.

“We, us three, need to talk. You need to apologize for your brash, paranoid, heartbroken assumptions.” Asaru said. Bradford rolled his eyes, but a faint pull at his mouth and how he avoided eye contact with Asaru showed some guilt. “And we need to talk about how things will go forward concerning several aspects.”

“You want her to stay?” Bradford could sense that.

Asaru nodded. “It’s better to keep her close than far away. She knows some of the inner workings of ADVENT and the Elders’ minds that we are still struggling to decipher. And I still wish to take a crack at her mind to dig through her memories and piece them together.”

Bradford let a faint mhm.

“And for you,” Asaru poked at Bradford’s head, “you need to put your demons to rest before they get the best of you and me. I would rather not die or have to kill you.” And he wouldn’t hesitate to do so if Bradford finally lost it. He had done it before. “I do not want to search for a compatible host.” 

Asaru drew two tentacles up and over his head and positioned them at an angle in such a way as to make them look like furrowed eyebrows. They stayed like that for a few seconds before he withdrew them. 

Asaru slowly drifted over to Bradford’s side and finally sat down on the bed. He didn’t let go of that tail as it had a particular pull to it that told him he’d get a whack to the face as soon as it was free. 

“I know I can’t force your hand on what you should do, but this needs to be taken care of before we are released from this place.” Asaru said. 

The man closed his eyes tightly. He knew exactly what his companion was implying.

He could feel that strange heat rise in his chest and creep up his neck. There was the faint rustle and clicking of metal as the scale mane bristled and fluffed out. The tip of his tail subtly twitched even as it was restrained. 

Many thoughts were going through his mind. Several were salacious in nature that he had to control from time to time, as he longed for a past that never came to be. But now, they were focusing on the changed Jynn, the Jy-Sol. 

Ever since she had joined their side, he had never seen her fully remove her armor. It took some months before she removed some of her gear and layers of armor. She only ever stripped down to under-armor when in her room resting. She didn’t even do that for their doctors. She refused all health checks, even when an encounter on the field against her siblings left her at death’s door. She would sequester herself to her room, let S’Norri take care of what she could, and then would let her psionics heal the rest, usually putting herself into a deep, meditative sleep for some days.

Just what does she look like under all that armor? More human or more alien? 

The errant thought entered his mind. One he did not want to entertain, but it ran with it against his will. Just what did she look like? Did she share any more traits her cruel Masters had? He wasn’t sure he could remember what one of those things looked like since it had been over 20 years since XCOM successfully captured one, if not two.  He faintly remembered they were thin, spindly. They had old, wrinkled, taut skin that emphasized their physical fragility, even more so how their skin stretched across their emphasized breastbone, and their craniums seemed split towards the sides and back revealing the glowing orange mass within. None of the Chosen shared those traits, minus some gauntness in the face.

Better question is if the Elders’ current form is the same as what They originally looked like. Faintly recall our science teams pulled some cranium psi-enhancing implants from the one we finished interrogating. They may ‘enhance” Themselves as much as They practice it on other species…

His mind drifted to the odd chitinous plating that ran across the Chosens’ cheekbones. Did any other parts of their body share that?

What does she look like under it all? Human or more alien?

His mind came back around to that errant thought, and before he knew it, he was undressing Jy-Sol in his mind, layer by layer… by his own hands. Tender hands and gentle lips explored every inch of her transformed body. And she was enjoying it.

His breathing hitched. Red rushed to his cheeks. Body bristling in disgust, his nails tore into the gurney sheets.

Fuck no! Stop! Back to what Asaru said.

He opened his mouth, but only a hoarse squeak came out. Snapping it shut, he raised a hand to his neck and rubbed it. It took him vigorously rubbing it and clearing his throat a few times before he could push out any words.

“Do you… Do you think… she’ll be able to understand?” Bradford asked.

Asaru shrugged. “I cannot say. I suspect she knows and has been faintly playing that angle to try to get conversations out of you, but you have been stubbornly stalwart.”

Bradford grumbled. More so at himself, as his companion was right about his stubbornness. It caused a lot of trouble that interfered with them leading XCOM.

To his annoyance and dismay, those explicit thoughts were still plaguing his mind and pulling at his aching heart. Another question came to his mind.

“Do you…” His voice slipped to a near whisper. He wordlessly let his mouth flap before a rough grunt forced out the troubled words. “Do you think she could… reciprocate? Even if it’s just a fraction?”

A few sparks shot off in Asaru’s head and cascaded through his body; he caught one of Bradford’s errant thoughts. Those tentacles nearly lost grip on that tail. The alien was silent for a while as his skull tilted back and forth slowly. 

“I… I cannot say…” Asaru’s speech was stilted. The skull continued to shift back and forth. “You… you will have to take the risk to see. She may have enough ‘human emotions’ and memories of her old self and personality to do so. Yet, I cannot give you a strong enough answer to quell that trouble in your heart.” He spoke carefully, trying his best not to sound too hopeful or harsh. “But, taking such a risky step, may finally close that chapter of your life your heart has refused to let go of.” 

Hearing that made Bradford close his eyes again. It was… a discomforting notion to him now, and those thoughts weren’t helping. His mind couldn’t decide whether he would finally find some form of peace from that or would be heartbroken again and spiral. Just because there was that faint hint of a chance that there was the old Jynn buried deep within Jy-Sol, that could allow her to reciprocate.

“Say I take that step and she accepts and reciprocates my feelings…” Bradford’s voice trailed off as he talked about that most unlikely scenario before he was going to mention the equally impossible outcome. “And we… you… saw.” He flinched even thinking about that aspect. He wanted to incinerate those thoughts. 

Why? What the hell is wrong with me? Was that him or his new biology causing that? 

A few more sparks of energy sparked through Asaru’s being as he looked away from Bradford. The alien tapped a finger against his bubble-membrane, and with his lower hands, the fingers drummed together. 

This is… tricky… We don’t need a repeat of that fling years ago…

“That would be an… interesting… venture to explore and handle, if it is a possibility.” Asaru inclined his head to the side. A faint snicker slipped out when he heard the man groan, more so at the increase in the explicit thoughts and other new and confusing feelings. 

Asaru drew a tentacle around and poked the center of Bradford’s head. “Though I would rather you not have a repeat of your little fling with Mena.”

Bradford closed his eyes as his lips drew into a thin, strained line. A second later, a burst of steam shot out as he snorted. Faint heat lines shimmered over his chest. “Do not remind me.” 

“In all seriousness, if that possibility would come to fruition…” Asaru paused as he tapped his fingers together, recalling so many factors that would be affected by the prospect. “In the event it became public, because I know this would stay strictly confidential, several protocols would need to be set up. I, we, both know how several would react. We don’t need the mutiny and chaos it will cause.”

For just a moment, Bradford’s eye twitched before he smacked his head. How could he forget about that? He cursed under his breath and at himself for a few minutes. He was letting that hurting heart and confused emotions cloud his mind again.

“Ugh…” He groaned. No more stalling. “When you think it’s best, contact Jy-Sol so we can finally have our talk… ”

A few excited sparks of energy surged through Asaru’s head. “A few days then. It will give you enough time to think of what you want to say and sort through other feelings.”

Bradford grumbled. He raised a hand to give that membrane head a smack, but a tentacle caught it. 

“I hate my new biology. The thoughts I’m having…” He felt his body heat up again as the “undressing” thoughts came back to his mind. He couldn’t tell if some part of him, the human him, wanted to entertain that. Please no. Just no.

“Things will sort themselves out in due time. Maybe a few more adjustments during those health checks will knock those sexual urges away.” Asaru snickered as he patted the side of the man’s hand. “Or… it could make them worse. Maybe Akarak’s are just a passionate species?”

“Asaru…” He growled.

“I jest.” Asaru patted his head a few more times before a swat knocked away the offended tentacle. “I will send a message in a few days.” 

————————

Jy-Sol. You may come to us now. Perhaps during his next health check this evening? I believe John is finally in a more sound mind and mood for us to talk. Some anger and bitterness linger, but I will make sure he doesn’t make any brash actions he will regret. Bring your guard companions. It will temper Maker’s mood as he most likely will disagree with your arrival. 

The message Jy-Sol received from Asaru startled her. It had been some time since that blow-up when Bradford had been released from the tank. 

She was back on the Avenger, currently in the Meditation room built for the psions, currently going through a trance treatment with one of the Templars to sort out a rough series of dreams and memories she had dealt with recently. 

The sudden message caused her psionics to spark, reflexively activating her defenses, kicking the Templar out of her mind. 

Reiner hissed as the sudden snap back caused him to jerk back, but quick footwork kept him from falling over. “They really don’t want us digging deeper to block them out and figure out this gap in the memories.” 

Psi veins bulging and glowing strongly, the man rolled his shoulders. His fingers wiggled, causing several sparks to dance across the tips. Taking a step forward, he raised his hand to Jy-Sol’s head only to raise a brow when the Chosen jerked forward. 

She raised a hand. “My apologies. I… just received an unexpected message. That was the cause of the defensive strike back.”

He raised a brow. He looked to his right. Her Watchers were still sitting off to the side at a table, keeping themselves busy by doing maintenance on their gear and quietly talking amongst themselves. It couldn’t have been them. 

“A message?” He asked. 

“Yes… something for me to answer soon…” Jy-Sol let her voice trail off. Should she go? A part of her wanted to, but another part of her was worried. There was a touch of fear, and that felt so strange to her for what she was, in that worry that things would not go well if she made her appearance. “How much longer will this session take?”

“A few more hours, as long as we do not have any more interruptions.”

“Mhm.” She nodded. It was still early in the day. “Thank you. I will… try to mitigate any future snap-backs. Please, continue your work.” Taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, she returned to her previous position and closed her eyes. 

Reiner flexed his fingers before he placed his hands around her head again. “Holding you to that. Now, calm your mind and heart. Emotions stir those devouring shadows.”

“Yes… right. What they pull at, seeking the smallest cracks so they can take root.” She hissed. Hissed at her own naivety. How curiosity concerning her past had gotten the best of her several months ago, planting a dangerous seed of darkness in her being. 

It didn’t take long before the trance was in full swing again, but before it fully took her, she sent a message to Asaru. 

I will… consider the offer, Asaru. I do not wish to hinder the health checks, but if you believe my presence will cause no harm… I… She paused as doubt lingered in her heart. I will come. Again, thank you. 

I believe your presence will only be a mild hindrance before it can help rectify pressing issues, I suspect that you are all too aware of. I will await your answer, nonetheless. He sent back. 

Mhm. She pressed her tongue against her teeth. She wondered what he meant by that. It had to be something deeper than the constant coldness and disdain Bradford showed her. Now, please, do not contact me again for some hours, I need the quiet. 

I will await your message.

It was a few more hours before she was done with her session with Reiner. By then, Jy-Sol was mentally exhausted; a faint unease still hung in her mind.

She sent a message to Asaru and told him change plans for the next day. She needed her rest. Coming now would most likely lead to unfruitful discussions and potential lethal frustrations.

He understood and told her that the change of plans would work better due to Bradford getting rather heated, literally, during a physical exam after another infusion. Injuries were mostly kept to a minimum, and Bradford thankfully didn’t have to be sedated. 

Jy-Sol wasn’t sure if she should have been relieved, concerned, or worried. 

The two finished up their conversation so she could rest. Her Watchers escorted her back to her room and continued to watch her as a hawk, as the Chosen made herself comfortable in one corner. She took on her usual meditative position, sitting with her legs crossed, hands resting in her lap, head dipped forward, before she closed her eyes.

Yet, her mind was active as ever. Her conversation with Asaru left her a little peeved as the Ethereal continued to be vague on what more specific subjects he was implying besides the whole reason behind his hybridization. 

Instinctively, she tapped into her pre-cognition gift and began to run potential simulations of how said conversation would go the next evening, and another part of her mind went through old memories. 

Issues I am all too aware of?

She could feel her mind and sub-minds scratching just at the surface of what Asaru meant by that. It was something specific. Very specific.

What is it? Hm… What have I learned about John over the months… Or perhaps… over the year I was hunting him?

Just a faint pang of guilt crept into her hearts. So many had to die and suffer for her eyes to truly open, and she took pleasure in it, under the veiled guidance of the Elders.

A well-archived and frequently accessed memory rose to the surface that her minds quickly snatched up and unfurled.

They were memories she had gleaned or snatched from Bradford whenever they had clashed. Strong emotions laced with the biting, bitter anger she was all too familiar with. And then another painful and hateful memory came along with them. That interrogation that went sour, and he was finally barred from participating by Geist’s hands.

She froze, eyes opening wide. Her hearts stilled before beating rapidly. Her breathing hitched. Her skin flushed purple. 

Why… why am I feeling this way? Am I… concerned? Flustered…? I… I do not know… Certain human emotions were still so foreign to her. 

“Oh…” She quietly said to herself. Another reason why the man was so angry at her. “Oh… that will be an interesting conversation.”

She hoped all things would go well the next evening. 

[etherealvoidechoes]

(Rewrite) - U.M.R. (FYL) - Every Decision Has a Consequence... Every Mistake Has a Cost - 2/8

Ao3 Link

1 | 2(Here)| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Approx. 7k

The usual violence, blood, language, etc. for my works. Increased descriptions somewhat concerning what happens to Bradford.

--------

What was supposed to be a simple investigation quickly turned into a nightmare for Jy-Sol and XCOM. 

They were investigating a Blacksite ADVENT had hastily abandoned due to a sudden psionic excursion erupting in the heart of the facility that was slowly spreading out to the surrounding land. 

All Network activity was disrupted. All movement, land and air, was swiftly rerouted away from the area.

From a few videos, XCOM was able to recover from a Network intrusion; the excursion was not kind. Human, alien workers, and the Guards were driven mad, if not outright killed, when the potent energy erupted with a thunderous flash. The MEC units malfunctioned due to orders from the Network becoming scrambled, causing them to gun down the mad survivors before they shut down.

But none of the videos showed what caused the excursion. All attempts to gain access to videos from camera feeds that were in restricted areas of the facility failed. Their best guess was that an experiment had gone wrong. 

XCOM put together a team of their most capable Psions, their resident Templars, and strong-willed operatives that would be bolstered by some mindshields. 

Jy-Sol volunteered herself and her Watchers for the mission. She felt like something was off about the whole thing and had some worries that the operatives would be unable to handle it themselves. Additionally, she could help shield their minds from the errant energies if they overwhelmed them or the shields.

Much to her annoyance and the annoyance of everyone, Bradford inserted himself into the investigation. With how Jy-Sol so readily volunteered herself for the mission, he felt like it was a trap. And then something was off about the intel they gathered, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

And his hunch just had to be partially right.

—————————

XCOM arrived at the Blacksite. The psionic energy was still flowing strongly, bitterly biting into everyone’s minds, but the psions worked to push it out. 

Bradford had Jy-Sol lead the way. A little test. He was watching her like a hawk.

They investigated the surrounding buildings first, finding only the brain-fried dead and the usual resources they could bring out and tag for the Skyranger to pick up.

As they closed in on the main building, on the source of the overwhelming psionic energy flowing through the facility, they found their answer. The Warlock. 

Dhay-Vol had been using some unfortunate psion test subjects to obfuscate his energy and amplify it. The poor humans were nearly burned out husks before he finally snuffed out their pitiful lives with a flick and grasp of his hands, draining the last vestiges of their life energy into himself. The pressure of the overwhelming biting energy decreased significantly.

Dhay-Vol’s vibrant, pin-prick eyes locked onto his sister. He raised his hand and stabbed an angry claw in her direction, firing off a bolt of psionic energy she swiftly deflected.

Jy-Sol was already shifting into a defensive stance as she reached for her glaive. She hastily told everyone to fall back.

“You push the Elders’ hand with your idleness, sister.” He sneered as his near flat nostrils flared. More psionic energy began to trail from his eyes. “Your deception. To think They saw great things in you.” Disdain and disappointment peppered his tone. “But,” a slow, twisted grin crept across his face, showing his sharp teeth, “you will answer for your waywardness and bow to your superior.”

Then his eyes shifted over to Bradford. Without thinking, the man let out a barking volley in the Chosen’s direction. Several others joined in before Jy-Sol could tell them not to waste their ammo. 

With a flick of his finger, a shield deflected the magnetic fire.

Warlock darkly chuckled. The glow in his eyes grew in intensity as his grin grew. That pointed claw jabbed at Bradford next. “But first, catch him. I will take care of my sister.”

A few seconds after he said that, there was a hum before that familiar black swarm of nanites, trailed by green energy, of a Spectre swept past Warlock on all sides and raced towards Bradford. 

Before she could react and put up a shield, Warlock blasted Jy-Sol with a searing bolt, knocking her off her feet. The impact of the bolt threw her back, knocking over an unlucky operative before she crashed against the wall. 

The other psions barely had a chance to react and throw up some shielding to attempt to block the swarm as several pings rang out and the flanging barks of ADVENT filled the air. They found themselves having to quickly redirect their shielding to block the magnetic hail firing raining down on them as everyone scrambled for cover. 

A scream reminded everyone of the swarm.

Those nanites had swarmed Bradford and quickly enveloped him, tearing into his skin and pouring into his mouth and down his throat. 

He crashed to the floor. As his immobilized body contorted violently before he went terribly still. There was a faint writhing twitch of a digit here and there before, a distorted copy composed of that swarm rose in his place. Like clockwork, the Shadow went to work to antagonize the man’s allies as he was writhing in unimaginable pain.

All was chaos. 

Jy-Sol had to keep her focus on Dhay-Vol to make sure he left the others alone. She had barely had a chance to recover when she found her devil-horned brother hounding her with more hateful energy. Each taunt that left his lips following psionic strike after strike was tinged with a sadistic glee. He wanted to teach her a lesson. He wanted to prove to their Masters that she was unworthy to be a Chosen. Unworthy to have her four-armed form. Unworthy to rule this world.

Even with her keeping his attention and occasionally providing help to the others when he clashing pushed her in the direction of an ADVENT Trooper, she also had to deal with the XCOM operatives throwing accusations at her for setting them up. She didn’t. She was as clueless as them and suspected something entirely different and potentially worse was at the facility. 

She was angry with herself that she didn’t see this potential variation when she ran a few simulations before the mission. All that trust she built over the months was gone.

As they fought, Jy-Sol felt something grasp as that faint connection she had with Bradford. Desperately grab at it. Then she heard the voice. Weak, but panicked

S-s-stop them! It was Asaru. They have us.

As swift as a lightning strike, her head snapped in the direction of the connection as she blocked another blast from her brother. She saw it. A pair of Troopers had picked up Bradford’s unconscious body and were hauling him over to a Psionic Gate being held open by a Priest.

No… The two that held so many answers to her distant past. Her heart wavered before she felt something snap inside of her. Her face twisted, her eyes began to grow a vibrant blue, before she let out an angry, snarled howl.

Barely dodging another rendering claw strike from her brother that marked her armor, she threw one hand high into the air.

“COME TO ME, YORRICK!” She needed an embodiment of her inner animal and rage on the field.

Dhay-Vol rushed at her with a series of disorientating teleports. He wanted to wrap his claws around her traitorous neck and snap it. 

Just as he closed in on her, one tensed hand pulled back, ready to rake his claws across her face, a harsh psionic ping rang out between the two as a blue flash of light suddenly appeared.

Dhay-Vol let out a pained, choked yell as he felt slick, cold metal connect with the side of his neck, slicing deep into it, before the firm impact of the movement sent him flying back.

“Oh, Hearteater!~” That singsong voice of Yorrick rang out. 

As that light dissipated, the hulking brute of a Butcher twirled his blood-soaked axe and whipped around the other. He raised the blood-soaked as to his face and licked it, letting out a faint mmm as he grinned. 

“Been waiting to spar with you for a long time. I always wonder what you taste like. You’re rather bitter!” He started to march over to the dazed Chosen, tapping the blades of his axes together. 

“Bar… Barbarian.” Dhay-Vol spat. He was on his knees. One hand was pressed against the swiftly sealing wound on his neck. His hateful glare shifted back to his sister. “Of course, you would bring in another traitor.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Yorrick growled. “Eyes on me!” He tapped his axe heads together as a faint skipping pep entered his step.“Now, maybe we can trade notes on how best to tear out a heart? LIKE YOURS! HEH HA HA!” Like the wild cackling animal he was, he threw himself at the Warlock, who had to make a last-second teleport to dodge the blade that would have plunged into his chest. The strike shattered the flooring. 

With her brother occupied, Jy-Sol turned her attention back to Bradford and Asaru. With a dash and teleport, she reached the gateway, appearing just behind them. With the quick work of her glaive, she cut down the Troopers and caught Bradford with her lower arms. Barely exhausting energy, with a flick of her wrist, she ensnared the Priest, and with another flick, she sent them flying through the very portal they were keeping open, causing it to close.

Gently, she lowered Bradford to the floor and began to examine him. Several of those nanobots were crawling all over him, with several shifting bulges appearing under his skin. The man looked horribly pale, his face twisting with pain.

She raised an energy imbued hand over him to see if she could sense any other issues before she felt a touch on her mind again.

S-s-something wrong.  It was Asaru again. He sounded weaker than before. There’s s-s-something about this S-S-Spectre that’s different. It feels like it’s k-k-killing him. K-k-killing us. T-t-tearing at us. I-I-I can’t stop it.

A second later, she felt it through her powers. Her eyes widened and trembled. No, no, no. She could feel both of them slowly fading as Bradford’s body was being ravaged on the inside. The copy needs to die. That should stop this madness.

With a thought, she sent a message to her Watchers and ordered the three to focus on eliminating the Shadow. They swiftly complied and switched their focus. She then sent another message to one of the Specialists and told them to contact Firebrand.

The Specialist cursed at the sudden intrusion. They pointed out there was still too much psionic energy in the area for Firebrand to come in for an emergency extraction. She knew that. She told them she just needed Firebrand close enough and she would take care of the rest, once that Shadow was eliminated. They reluctantly agreed. 

Jy-Sol did what she could to stabilize Bradford as she made her way back to her allies.

With Dhay-Vol still thoroughly distracted by Yorrick’s unstoppable savage onslaught of wanting to take his head, besides attempts at caving in his chest armor so he could also take his heart, the Watchers managed to destroy the Shadow copy of Bradford just as the rest of the squad managed to push back the additional backup Warlock had called in. 

As soon as the last bullet broke the magnetic cohesion of the swarm, Bradford’s eyes flew open as he let out a sudden strangled gasp. Several flew out of his mouth before falling to the ground like dead flies. The ones crawling on his body dropped dead, too. And the ones under the skin stopped moving. But the man was still. His eyes were glazed over, his chest struggled to rise, and he still looked pale.

No, this shouldn’t be happening; he should be recovering. Jy-Sol hovered a hand over Bradford’s chest and was alarmed that his heartbeat was weak and growing weaker with each passing second.

She froze when a thought pierced her mind.

Get us out of here! Get us home! NOW! Asaru yelled, almost pleading.

She knew he could also pick up that something wasn’t right.

“Everyone to me!” She called out, beckoning them with a free hand. The others quickly made their way over to her.

“No!” Catching just a second to scan his surroundings, Dhay-Vol realized that his plan was unraveling. A new anger boiled inside of him. Just as he set his sights on his sister and pointed an energy imbued finger at her, he let out a strangled gasp. Another axe found a gap between his shields and planted itself firmly into the Chosen’s neck.

Yorrick cackled like the madman he was. “Your head is mine!” Roughly reeling the stunned Warlock in, Yorrick’s sharp teeth were fully on display as he licked his lips.  He was just about ready to take a bite out of Dhay-Vol’s neck before a harsh voice stopped him.

“Yorrick, enough of that and come to me!” Jy-Sol yelled. 

The barbarian looked at Dhay-Vol, then at her, back at Dhay-Vol, before he winced as he felt an angry sting stab at his brain. He growled out a whine. He finally had his prize and now had to toss it. What a waste. He wrenched his blade free, causing orange blood to spray everywhere, before he gave Dhay-Vol a solid kick to the chest, causing him to fly back and tumble across the ground. 

“I want compensation!” Yorrick snipped at Jy-Sol as he ran over to her and the others.

“Stop, your whining, you petulant child. You had your fun.” She was in no mood for his behavior. But a faint part of her was thankful he did his job.

Once everyone was gathered around her, a ring of blue psionic energy surrounded them. A second later, a bright flash of light fully enveloped them, and a ping rang out. As it cleared, they were gone. 

——————————

Just outside of the perimeter of the dangerous psionic energy surrounding the Facility was the Skyranger. A second later, the squad appeared inside of it; some were a bit disoriented by the jump and found themselves in awkward positions. 

Someone yelled at Firebrand to leave and use the afterburners as they needed to get back to the Avenger stat. The pilot swiftly complied.

With them on their way back to the Avenger, Jy-Sol found a place to set Bradford down and beckoned the Specialists to come over. 

One of them was already having their Gremlin scan the man as the other was checking his vitals by hand. His heartbeat was dangerously low, and his breathing was shallow.

The scan from the Gremlin revealed the Spectre nanites were dead, but it seemed like they had delivered a hidden viral payload that was attacking Bradford’s system. 

One of them was already sending information back to the Medical team on the ship to get them prepped. 

As the pair of Specialists worked to stabilize Bradford with the supplies they had on hand, Jy-Sol had one set of hands hovering over his head and the other over his chest. From her hands, trails of her psionic energy were cascading down. She was giving over some of her vast power, some of her life force, to aid the stabilization.

Bradford let out a sharp gasp, his face and body twisting in discomfort, as the energy entered him, permeating every inch of his being.

A Shard Gun was drawn and placed against Jy-Sol’s temple. Shouts soon followed as the others tried to calm the situation. A Templar had to stun Yorrick to keep the brute from charging through the others to get to the offender.

“What the hell are you doing?” The Ranger growled.

Jy-Sol barely glanced at them as she was concentrating on Bradford. “I am trying to sa—”

“Stand down.” Bradford spoke, weakly. His voice was split in two, with that ethereal voice of Asaru’s being more dominant. Eyes opened, revealing the man’s brown eyes were glowing blue. “Stand down. Let her… let her… work.” They struggled to speak. “She… she sustains us… Without her… we… we… will… die.” 

The Ranger’s lips were already twisted into a fierce snarl. Their eyes jumped to Bradford, back at Jy-Sol, and back to him. A twitching finger hovered over the trigger. They cursed.

“Don’t make me fucking regret my decision, boss.” Lowering their weapon, they kept a firm glare on Jy-Sol.

“You can… heh… shoot me later.” Bradford’s voice became more dominant for a second. He even managed a smirk.

With the situation mostly defused, Jy-Sol continued with her work. One of the Templars joined her to ease the distrust.

——————————

The ride back to the Avenger was mostly quiet.  There were frequent murmurs about how the operation went. Questions speculating if it was a trap that Jy-Sol was in on. She ignored them. Answering would be futile. Someone stuck up for her. They pointed out that she and Dhay-Vol despised each other, and the Warlock was showing far too much sadistic glee in attempting to murder her. And if the two were working together, she would have probably sent a subtle message to her Watchers to shoot them all in their backs. That shut down the conversation. A doubter grumbled it would continue once they were back on the ship.

To the annoyance of the Specialists, the more skeptical would frequently ask for an update on Bradford’s condition. It took one of them snapping and letting out a low-toned threat, with many pointed jabs to the chest, to keep their trap shut, and everyone would be updated if the man took a turn for the worse.

It was music to everyone’s ears when Firebrand announced they were about 20 minutes out from the Avenger. 

——————————

Jy-Sol was deep in her meditative transference when a gentle prod, then a weak grab, touched her psionics.

Did you know? It was Bradford. His tone, though weak, was accusing

Her eyes flashed open, and she looked down at the man. His eyes were closed.

Did you know? Bradford repeated.

Stop. Save our strength. Asaru interjected.

Did you know? He asked once more, putting more force into the connection.

Jy-Sol inhaled sharply as she closed her eyes. No. I did not. I had no idea my… former… Masters… She hesitated to even say that. Or brother had such plans. This… This is too far… even for Them if They wanted you both alive. The risks… What if it took too long to drag you back to that Gate? 

She was still trying to wrack her mind over this plan. The Elders wouldn’t have done something like this unless They had a way to reverse it.

Unless… A series of thoughts entered her mind. Ones that her sub-minds quickly extrapolated on. Troubling ones she kept to herself. A fate worse than death.

Dhay-Vol wholly intended to humble, humiliate, and kill me. I could feel it in every single fiber of his being. She sent a thought back over to the pair. She trembled just for a second as her body recalled the unending malice her Sibling had for her and faint traces of the Elders’ contempt for her actions. He was confident. Overly confident. As always, that is his downfall.

There was silence for some time. Jy-Sol had slipped back into her meditation when that same psionic sensation came back. She heard Asaru first, telling Bradford to rest, before the man asked his next question.

Why? He asked.

Pardon? Jy-Sol asked.

Why? He repeated. Why save me? Why save us?

She flared her nostrils for a moment, but no air came out. That doubt and suspicion. You are the ones that lead XCOM, that lead this Resistance. It would be a blow to the movement if you two died.

Why? He sensed there was more to it than that.

She pursed her lips before biting them. She shook her head. She could not share her more selfish reasons for keeping him alive. 

As I stated, you two are the lynch pin needed to free this world. Now please… Shifting her lower arms away from his chest, she dropped them down and carefully grasped his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Rest. I must concentrate.

The man sent one last grumbled reply that they would discuss this when he recovered before going silent. Asaru sent a thank you.

She kept a steady stream going towards them as her mind treaded back onto horrid theories. Just before her mind went too deep into them. She felt another touch on her mind. One that was constantly in contradiction with itself. Cold and hollow, but at the same time, warm and embracing.

No. Not you. Go away. She hissed. A troubling outside force, she naively interacted with, even with warnings from strange allies.

She flinched when she felt phantom hands touch her shoulders. She flinched again when she felt something draw near to the side of her face.

I will be watching. My ears are always open. My hands are always giving. The voice spoke. Gentle as the rain.Vast as the cosmos. And as deep as the ocean.

Go away. She repeated once more. It lingered a little longer before all sensations left.

Shoulders falling, she let out a deep sigh. She sent a few pulses of energy to shake off any lingering feelings for her unwanted visitor. She would have to check her neck later.

——————————

As soon as the Skyranger touched down on the landing pad, Jy-Sol told the Templars to tell Navla to get to the Infirmary as soon as she could, before barely giving a warning to the others as she teleported herself and Bradford down to the Infirmary. It was risky, but she felt it was much faster as his condition had barely shifted for the better on the ride back.

The sudden teleport spooked the Medical team, but they quickly shifted gears and directed her to the advanced gurney to lay Bradford on so they could hook him into various machines and IV drips.

Jy-Sol found a corner where she would be out of the way and kept a close watch. She didn’t cut her connection. She felt that if she did, the two would take a turn for the worse.

It didn’t take long for the one skeptical Ranger to come charging in, with some of the Senior staff trailing behind. As soon as they spotted Jy-Sol, they started throwing accusations. A hand was going for a knife.

Corvo Samaras sped up his pace and grabbed the fuming soldier before they did anything stupid. Dragging them out of the Infirmary, one could assume he gave them a dressing down and dismissed them, before he came back in.

With just a few head nods and gestures, he had Jy-Sol and the others go over to a side room. The questioning began. Questions Jy-Sol had already answered before. But it barely phased her until two people kept pushing that she must have planned it.

She lightly snapped back that she had hundreds of opportunities to isolate their leader and snatch him away, before and after she was finally allowed to set foot on their mobile HQ. She called what Dhay-Vol and the Elders did dangerously sloppy. Beyond idiotic. There were too many variables where Bradford and Asaru could have been lost.

That shut them up.

As she was just beginning to explain a worrying thought of what the Elders may have had planned if They had managed to capture the two, she suddenly stopped.

Biting down hard on her tongue, causing orange blood to squirt out, she felt a sudden shock to her system. A harsh jab to the side of her caused her to tip over, but she caught herself on the wall. Before she had a chance to recover, she found herself being forced to her knees as if something was bringing a hammer down on her skull and back repeatedly. She did not make a sound. She didn’t need the humans to worry.

The horrid feeling of cold, weathered hands clawing at her head, clawing at that golden helm that was keeping them out, came next. Then a voice.

Jy-Sol.

Eyes flying open, she felt her hearts still. But she had been expecting this. She tampered down her connection to Bradford. They did not need to sense that if They broke through. Her eyes darted towards the door. Mind conjuring up many variables, wondering when that Templar Navla would arrive. She hoped it was soon.

Jy-Sol. The Elders repeated her name.

Jy-Sol shooed the Senior staff away from her. She let out a strained whisper for them to get that lead Templar to Bradford asap and to prepare to move the ship. It didn’t take long for them to figure out what she meant by that, as they could tell she was straining against an invisible source. They left quickly. That emergency announcement soon blared throughout the ship.

Jy-Sol! A thousand voices raged at her.

She let out a choked gasp as her face slammed against the floor. Gritting her teeth, her nails clawed against the metal floors.

Jy-Sol. As swift as the rage came, that false, tender kindness entered. We know you can here Us. Listen carefully, for We will only offer this mercy once.

She scoffed but held her mental tongue.

You can redeem yourself from your misguided madness, as you allowed yourself to become too intertwined with these lowly creatures. They hissed. Bring that wretched leader and the Silent Guide to Us before it is too late. 

Jy-Sol replied with a short “hm.” She grinned when she felt a faint hint of agitation in the connection.

Do so quickly. They stressed. A faint anger entered the Chorus before it quickly died back. You will still be rewarded with rulership of his planet. Your Siblings will be under your thumb. And… 

The pause made Jy-Sol narrow her eyes. She could sense an uncertainty amongst the Collective. 

Once We claim what is rightfully Ours from that leader. We can heal him. Remake him in the fashion of your choosing, as we sense you have grown a strange fondness for the human. They couldn’t hold back Their disgusted hissing. Human emotions tainted another one of Their Children. He can become useful to Our cause. Another mind to lead ADVENT and curtail this unruly world.

A flash of bright anger cut through Jy-Sol’s eyes. She opened her mouth, both physical and mental, but quickly shut it, biting down hard on her tongue until she drew blood.

No, not yet. I cannot lash back yet with my strength and attention diverte—

Her eyes grew wide. She felt another connection. There was a partial coldness to it. Like the old, timeless depths of the oceanic abyss. Then she heard it.

Cut your connection. I have them. It was Navla’s cold, near-indifferent voice. Jy-Sol could feel her hearts flutter with relief.

Without a second thought, Jy-Sol severed her connection and recalled her power to herself.

No. She replied harshly to her former Masters. No. I will no longer do Your bidding. She hissed. I have learned of Your true nature. I have seen through Your lies.

Jy-So—

No! Blue energies erupted from her being. Get out… Get out… GET OUT!

She roared both mentally and out loud. The Collective shrieked, both shocked by her defiance and the surge of pain that ripped through the connection. They refocused Their efforts and tried to claw a way into her mind and locate her.

Insolent child! You will be—

“GET OUT!” She raged. “COTALO! TA ISH’VI UNE.” She cursed at Them. She was done.

The Elders shrieked once more as the connection was burned up and severed.

There was a faint snap back. One that made Jy-Sol gasp and clutch at her head. The world began to spin and grow dim.

No, not yet. I will not go to the dark until I know They are gone.

Slowly and painfully, she forced herself up and rested on her knees. It was a struggle, but she searched her mind, her being, and her psionics to see if there was a shred of that connection. There was nothing. It was seared like a hot iron.

Satisfied, she collapsed and let the dark take her.

——————————

Jy-Sol was out for a few days before she finally regained consciousness. 

She wasn’t surprised XCOM had moved her to her prison cell of a room and had set up several psi-nullifying devices. With just a faint push, she knew she could overpower them, but did not do so.

As soon as it was relayed to one of the Senior staff members that she was awake, it didn’t take long for the questioning to begin again. She answered as truthfully as she could.

Yes, her chasing them out of the room was because the Elders had connected to her. Yes, she severed the connection after she learned the details of Their mad plan. No, she did not give Them any information, and They had no idea of the previous location the Avenger was stationed. No, again, she still had nothing to do with Bradford and Asaru’s current state. She uncharacteristically cursed out the person who brought that up again.

Once the questioning was over, she had one singular question for them. Everything else could wait.

“How are John and Asaru faring?” 

The strange, tender concern caused a few eyebrows to raise, and hushed murmurs started up with the skeptical, but they answered her question.

Bradford and Asaru were not doing well. Bradford had slipped into a coma, with Asaru barely responding to reserve their strength. Navla was able to take over the psionic stabilization for some time after Jy-Sol cut her connection, but now she and her fellow Templars were having to cycle their connections to the two to not drain themselves. 

Extensive scans, blood draws, and tests revealed that the payload from the Spectra was a bio-mechanical virus that was tearing apart his DNA. The former ADVENT doctors hadn’t seen anything like it. They were working tirelessly to find a way to stop it. Repairing the damage… that would be another task. A few operations had been started to hit various Facilities to steal that coveted Meld. They also had contacted their various allies to find more of the stuff. Especially, the higher grade kind.

Hearing the news devastated Jy-Sol. She cursed the Elders and her brother for their carelessness. And she wept. Wept for the human she felt held that key she needed to bring back her fragmented memories of the human she once was. Weeping for an old friend.

The weeping caught the Senior staff off guard. The undying nuisance was showing a human emotion they didn’t think she was truly capable of. It made them uneasy. Maybe there was still a shred of the human she once was, buried deep in her changed body.

It took some time for her to control her tears, but once she did, she asked if she could go see Bradford and Asaru. She didn’t hide her intentions. She wanted to take over for the Templars. Her powers outclassed them, and she wouldn’t tire so easily. And she just wanted to see their condition for herself.

The staff was split, but the majority vote won. Jy-Sol would be allowed to go to the Infirmary to take over for the Templars, but she would always have one of them or two of their soldiers with her. She agreed to that.

——————————

Arriving at the private room that held XCOM’s ailing leader after decontamination, Jy-Sol’s hearts broke again. He looked horrible.

His skin was pallid. Parts of it were split open with pus oozing out, and in other places, it was flaking away, layer after layer to reveal the bleeding, dying muscles underneath. Some of it took on a stomach-churning, gangrenous green, and other parts of it were a rotten black. Sweat ran down his face. His chest trembled with every mechanical breath provided for him via intubation. 

She wanted to touch him, but the covering canopy to the advanced gurney kept her from doing so. She placed her hand on the glass.

Please, hold on. She sent a thought that she knew wouldn’t be answered. I’m sorry, They did this to you. I should have kept you from coming. But your… paranoia… I... I understand your brash decision.

She eventually took over the energy transference from the Templars. To her surprise, there was a near-instantaneous hungry draw that unbalanced her for just a moment. That wasn’t there the day it all happened. She had her questions, but saved them for later. It only took a few adjustments to account for the draining that wouldn’t strain her.

With her new task, she found a corner to make her new home until the man was healed. She didn’t want to be in the way of the doctors when they came and went. She let herself enter a meditative state and blocked out the world as she tuned herself sharply to Bradford and Asaru. She wanted no conversations, whether it be her Watchers, the defected Proxies, the Senior staff, Templars, or the doctors. She needed to concentrate.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed; it could have been hours, it could have been days, but she felt something pluck at the connection.

Jy-Jy-Jy-Sol… The intertwined voices of Asaru and Bradford called out. Jy-Jy-Jy-Sol… J-J-Jynn… They repeated, but Bradford’s became more dominant at the mention of her old identity.

Her eyes flashed open as soon as she heard them. They fell upon the gurney. The doctors were back, dressed in full surgical clothes. There were several IV drips of an orange substance she could only assume was Meld around them. The canopy to the gurney had been lifted. Her nose wrinkled as she detected the smell of necrotizing flesh.

Jy-Jy-Jy-Sol… They called out again.

“Refocus.” She quietly mumbled to herself before bowing her head and closing her eyes. 

I am here. She responded.

What’s… g-g-going… on? They asked. E-e-everything… f-f-feels… w-w-wrong…

Her closed eyes tightened. Tell the truth? Or tell a lie? Your shared condition… is not faring kindly. But the doctors are doing what they can. Something in the middle was best.

They were silent. She felt a few more taps and tugs on her connection to them and an attempt to spread out, but it quickly retracted as their power faltered.

W-w-we are… d-d-dying… aren’t w-w-we? They asked. I-I-I am… d-d-dying… aren’t I-I-I? Bradford repeated the question.

Jy-Sol bit the inside of her cheek as her neck tightened. She was expecting that. She held in the sigh that wanted to escape. 

I will not hide it. The current prognosis is grim. She paused as she gathered her thoughts. In the infinite, idiotic wisdom of the Elders, They inflicted you with some sort of bio-mechanical virus. It is tearing you apart from the inside. And she cursed Them. The doctors are doing what they can to find a way to stop it. To find a way to reverse the damage. They are here right now. I can only assume that while they are feeding your body with specifically programmed Meld to combat the virus and undo its damage, they are… removing the parts that cannot be saved.

There was silence. Silence that lingered too long for Jy-Sol’s liking. She tuned her senses back to hear the surrounding world again and could still hear that steady beat of the heart monitor going. She let out a faint sigh of relief.

S-s-so… this is… is… h-h-how it ends? 

She went, still hearing just Bradford speak. She was about to reply, but he continued.

No… no b-b-blaze of g-g-glory. He recalled his suicidal days some years after XCOM’s defeat. Not a… d-d-destroyed… l-l-liver. He questioned how he lived for so long with how bad some days got. N-n-not b-b-bleeding… out… b-b-b-urning up in s-s-some forest after an op… op gone… w-w-w-rong. He recalled how he got his plasma burn scar on his shoulder and was almost stabbed with a bayonet in his stomach.  A d-d-damn… virus.

Do not think like that. Jy-Sol hushed him. Have faith in the work of your fellow compatriots. Just hold on. They need you. This world needs you both. She paused for a moment as she thought of what to say next. The next series of words came out on their own. I need you both. 

Stunned by her words, she drew her head back and shook it. Why did I say that? She kept the thoughts to herself.

There was no reply for a long time. Jy-Sol bit her lip.

She felt a few taps. What she heard next perplexed her and made her hearts hurt.

Laughter. Weak, bitter laughter. Seemed Bradford had his doubts he would survive. Or was he laughing at what she said? As quick as it came, he went silent.

Bradford? Asaru? She asked. John? She just wanted a reply. Any reply.

A sudden curse from the outside world drew her back into it. A cacophony of sounds smashed against her, nearly causing her connection to Bradford and Asaru to falter. As she opened her eyes and refocused her mind, she quickly figured out what was wrong.

Surgery complications. Bradford’s vitals were dropping. His heart was dangerously close to stopping.

No… no! Jy-Sol sprang to her feet, but she did not move. It wasn’t the guards assigned to her that made her stop. A troubling, painful thought came to her mind. What could she do?

She let her mind slip into that precognition gift of hers, tempered by her sub-minds, to run near-instantaneous simulations to see all potential futures. Most were bleak. A few slivers they lived, but Bradford was severely disabled. In many, both were dead. Then a series of other possibilities came to her mind. 

Her body trembled as she felt a cold spell come over her. No. She immediately pushed them out, pushed out that hovering, gentle touch that wanted to lull her to accept risky offers and make dangerous deals. Stay away.

As she pushed those dark thoughts away, one potential future came to light, brought forth by her Analytical mind. But it came at its own cost, but looked to be the best chance for the two’s survival.

No… She didn’t want to go to that. It bordered on what the Elders had offered as an extension of Their “mercy” if she brought them to the Collective. That was an extreme option. But… But…

She found herself moving on her own to get a better look at Bradford. She gasped. He was a shadow of his former self. His features were sunken. Decay was rampant across his body. And nauseous yellow-tinted pustules peppered his skin.

It may be their only chance… I recall my Ascension to a Chosen was troublesome, but he figured it out. Hybridization was the solution. Maker may be their only chance. 

She hoped Raal’Maker was willing to hear her out. They hadn’t spoken directly since she started her double agent task. Just a few dead drops here and there to gain supplies and information. But she had her worries. She doubted he would rat her out to the Collective once she contacted him. But how to contact him? She had a feeling the Collective had a scrutinizing eye on him since she revealed her true colors.

Unless I—

She barely had a chance to finish the thought until she heard a troubling sound. A long, eerie beep.

“He’s stopped breathing! His heart’s stopped!” A doctor exclaimed.

No, no, no! Jy-Sol found her body moving on its own. She pushed aside the guards attempting to stop her, using a flicker of her power to restrain them against the walls. She gently pushed aside the doctors attempting to revive the dying man.

“Stand back.” She warned them once as her eyes were consumed by blue. They didn’t attempt to argue; they quickly scattered.

She placed all her hands on Bradford and poured her energy into him. It felt like ages passed before that dreadful death drone began beeping again, and his chest began to rise and fall once more, even if it struggled. Relief washed over the room. But she knew that wasn’t enough.

Her eyes darted around at all of the equipment. I can’t move him from this. He’s in no state to be moved. I hope Maker doesn’t mind the mess. She had made her decision. Even more so, as deeply protected memory reminded her of something. Something that gave her some assurance that the Collective would be blind to her efforts and Maker’s meddling.

Her eyes fell on who she sensed was the lead surgeon. “Forgive me for my hasty actions and what is to follow. Tell them I am saving them. Tell them to speak to Insight. She will know where to find me.”

A faint blue glow slowly began to encapsulate her, Bradford, and all the equipment attached to him.

It took a few seconds for everyone to figure out what she was about to do, and they immediately began to argue against it.

“We dance the rites of life and death.” Jy-Sol said before the blue light fully swallowed them, and they disappeared in a radiant psionic ping.

They were stunned. Someone rushed to relay the information to Corvo and the others. It didn’t take long for the ship to erupt into a frenzy.

[etherealvoidechoes]

Ne Cede Malis - REDUX - A Twist of Fate

Something I've been sitting on and then reworked it some more as the writing monster tries to bite me. Bite harder dang it.

Took the old version, but applied Find Your Light to it, including Asaru and Bradford being bonded, but keeping Jynn in a Proto-Chosen state. So consider this the new canon of this AU.

Now 13.9k.

Warnings for language, violence, references to alcoholism, and references to self-harm.

Can't say when I'll have the new versions posted on Ao3 and FF.net. May just append/add as a chapter to the old ones with the appropriate author notes.

-------

“Ho—how much longer… until we reach the outpost, Bradford?” Manson asked in-between gasps of air and grunts.

“Not much longer. Should see it when we reach the top of this hill.” Bradford replied.

“And then how far from there?” He sounded so exhausted.

“Oh, ease up.” Laney rolled her eyes. “Fresh ain’t killing you.”

“The humidity is.”

“Should install a fan into your Gremlin then. Just try to not get thrown out of Shen’s workshop.” She playfully teased, only to get a few curses slung at her. Yuri let out a boisterous laugh.

“You’re just asking for him to get thrown out of Shen’s workshop. Again.” Jody snickered. 

“I didn’t know that was her workshop.” Manson said through gritted teeth.

“Go easy on the new guy.” Joshua shook his head. He grabbed Manson’s pack off his back and slung it onto his. Manson gave a quick thank you.

Bradford was leading a squad of about five, him included, through the backwoods of North Georgia. Partially into the Appalachian Mountains. Though it was a cool, spring day, a recent rain had saturated the air as Manson was not dealing with the humidity well.

There were some sound rumors there was a reputable Black Market dealer that made their home deep within the moments. In fact, they had turned an abandoned ADVENT outpost into their base of operations. A bold and dangerous play on their hand, but seemed like ADVENT didn’t care about this region. Barely any patrols ran through the mountain. Maybe the occasional dropship flew by, but not much happened. Hopefully, the trip was worth it. Heard the dealer may have been in possession of some sensitive equipment procured from an ADVENT facility. And they were always interested in getting their hands on sensitive equipment. No telling where it could lead them.

As they crested the hill, there it was. The outpost was off in the distance, just a few miles away. A white, grim covered building with several vines growing over it. The sun's rays glistened off one of those gaudy, golden statues of the Elders. A surprising sight. Those things were usually defaced or torn down when abandoned.

“This is a beautiful sight.” Asaru partially emerged from Bradford and peered around at the vast wilderness. Just so much greenery, bright greenery and colorful flowers blossoming all around. At least some of the Earth was untouched by what the Elders had done. 

“It is.” Bradford nodded. One of the positives of running field missions. Getting away from the constant swarming hub of the Avenger and those metal interiors was always refreshing. Thinking of metal interiors, they needed to do some redesigning and decorating to make the place more lively. Maybe some black market contacts knew some carpenters? Could use some more wood paneling that wasn’t just the bar and crew’s quarters.

“I need… to catch my… breath.” Manson sat down as soon as they reached the top of the hill. He wiped the sweat from his brow before taking a swing of water from his canteen.

“Make it short.” Bradford glanced back at him and then at his watch. They still had a good amount of time before evening would hit. He wanted them to at least get halfway back to the Avenger before nightfall to set up camp. He rolled his eyes when Asaru chided him; yes he was being harsh, but they had a schedule to keep.“You’ve gotta toughen up, man.” Laney was still playfully picking on him. She found a log to step on to do some stretches to loosen up her legs. “Can’t have you on missions if you’re getting this tuckered out.

Manson furrowed his brows at her. “Not used to the humidity.” He was more used to drier climates. “Still getting used to carrying so much gear. I’m more of an engineer than a soldier.”

Manson was a new recruit to XCOM. A former ADVENT engineer fed up with the life and lies. He lived through the invasion as a teenager, and things never sat well with him. Of course, all the things the Elders did were wondrous, but it was all a lie. And then education They brought made his engineering interests flourish, but once he was older and found a job, he felt used. Eventually, catching wind of this XCOM made him want a way out of this false “golden” life. And there were a few others like him. It took some work, but they orchestrated a rescue from XCOM and delivered some equipment and valuable information into their hands. A few left to help with some havens, but most, including him, stuck with XCOM.

He flinched several times as Yuri patted his back. 

“You’ll adapt in no time, kiddo.” He gave a reassuring smile in his slightly thick Russian accent. A jagged scar ran up the left side of his face, from lip to ear. His left eye was glassy, but there was a hint of life to it. “If you don’t, you’ll suffer Corvo’s wrath.” He wiggled his fingers and made an ominous “ooOooOoo” sound.

“Don’t remind me of him.” Manson huffed. He wished he never volunteered to join the more military part of XCOM. It was interesting, but he should have just stuck with the engineering crew, but there were hurting to have more people on the field. Corvo was a slave master when it came to training. He wondered how a man like him was married to Shay, who also helped with the training. She was miss peppy to mister cold… who had his own quirks. Annoying Bradford was one of them. 

“Our blue friend sensing anything off?” Laney asked, as she went over to Bradford after stretching. She noticed their resident alien had partially emerged. 

“No, just admiring the sights.” Asaru answered with a chuckle. “Earth’s natural beauty untouched by the Elders.”

“Ah, gotcha.” She nodded and smiled. “The Appalachian Mountains have always been -ahem- purdy.” She playfully jabbed Bradford’s arm.

He flinched, eyes twitching for a moment, before rolling them. “Laney…” A slight tinge of red appeared in his cheeks. Asaru laughed.

“Sorry, just remembering what slipped out during the briefing with Corvo and Shay. Channeling some of Commander Reeves and her brother.” She tried her best to stifle a snicker, but a snort slipped out. “Got stuck in that accent for a few minutes and Asaru didn’t help.”

“Yeah… yeah… yeah.” There was a slight dejection in his voice. He had Asaru to blame for random accent slips due to influences from previous hosts. But there was just something about Jynn, his old friend, their old Commander that came out strong. He never really had a strong accent, whether it be “southern” or “midwestern”, but because of Asaru, one was slipping into them at random

Hearing the dejection, Laney put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a good squeeze. “Hey, we’ll find her. Found her blue friend.”

“We will find her.” Asaru agreed.

“Right, thanks. Trying to stay positive… just miss her a lot.”

“I know. And she was a pretty cool boss when not in work mode. Heck,” she snorted, “kinda miss how she would go off on the idiots. Dress them down. Especially the pranksters. Remember the Chryssalid puppet?”

“Oh, do NOT remind me of that day!” He never realized how mean of a hook the Commander had and then she nearly bit him when he had to restrain her from attacking the culprits.

A few minutes passed by as they all caught a break, discussed some things, and made quick checks on the local frequencies. No ADVENT activity for miles.

“Let’s get going.” Bradford was ready to go and Asaru had re-merged with him. He was already moving.

In about half an hour or so, they arrived at their destination. The outpost. It was quiet. Dead quiet. Just the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling.

“Hm.”

Bradford approached the door. He signaled for three of them to check the windows. The security lasers were down. Boards and tarps had replaced them, as there was no more power to keep them going. He gave another sign for Manson and Laney to have their Gremlins do some scanning. Better safe than sorry. Last thing they needed was them stumbling into a trap. Or a nest of Chryssalids. As they did that, he knocked on the door a few times in a pattern given to them by their sources.

“I have burned my tomorrows and my shadows.” And said the code phrase.

A few minutes passed… and no response.

“Hm.” He glanced over at Joshua and then Yuri.

“Lights out and the place looks empty on this side.” Joshua said.

“This side is dark too.” Yuri said.

“Backs empty.” Jody said, coming back from checking the rear.

“Hm…” He didn’t like that. He then looked back at their Specialists. Laney’s Gremlin had returned to her side.

“Reading no life signs but us.” Manson said. He was letting his Gremlin do more extensive scans. “Just cold on the inside. We’re the only hot spots.”

“Same here.”

“Hm.” Odd.

He looked at the door handle and gave it a tug. The door slide right open, with a bit of help. It stuck a few times and let out a grinding screech at one point. He winced. Somebody probably heard that.

Once fully opened… there was still no response. The place was empty. The lobby was set up like any other black market they had gone to. Several display cases containing various weapons, equipment, and resources. Dried meats handing off to one side. There were probably more items to be purchased in the side rooms.

“Hm.” He didn’t like this. His eyes glowed blue for a second. “Hm.” Still nothing. No other life signs. “Asaru?”

His eyes glowed again, this time lasting for over a minute.

“Nothing. No one else but us.” Asaru answered. “But something feels off.”

“Hm.” Always something. “Stay alert.” Cautiously, he entered. The others followed. He took in several whiffs and sneezed. Dusty. “Sea… salt?” But he was picking up a faint smell that was like the ocean in the room. Strange. Didn’t look like there were any candles burning.

His eyes glowed blue for a moment as he looked around. Still, they sensed nothing.

“Something is off…” Asaru repeated. “I can feel it.” Something was hanging loosely in the air, but he couldn’t put a tentacle on it.

“Picking that up too?” Yuri asked, nose wrinkling. Bradford nodded. “The air feels off.”

“Think it’s psionic activity?” He asked both Asaru and Yuri. Yuri was oddly sensitive to that. The doctors had done some tests. Said he had potential, and they were working on unlocking it with the help of their Templar Navla and then Asaru. Things were looking promising.

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Could be coming from an artifact lying around. Still, we should be careful.”

“I think so. But it’s strange… and familiar.” Asaru said. 

“Familiar?” Bradford thought back, just in case anyone was around that could be listening in.

“I can’t put my finger on it. I’ll study it some more.”

“Okay.” He then nodded at Yuri. “Agreed. Careful, everyone.” 

They all slowly spread out, weapons at the ready for anything, as they searched the outpost for any signs of life. But Bradford stayed in the main room. He just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. No black market dealer would leave their place unsecured like this. They usually had bodyguards besides booby traps. 

“Don’t touch anything.” He noticed Joshua was about to touch one case by the left wall. The man quickly apologized and backed away. Bradford didn’t take another step further into the room. Something still didn’t feel right. “The dealer could have some nasty security set up.”

“Way ahead of you. Daedalus, do your thing.” Manson has his Gremlin carefully scanning the room to pick up any traps. That blue grid touched every inch of the room. “Clear. Next room, pal.” 

As the team continued to investigate, Bradford finally moved. He went over to the counter to see what was on sale. Some elerium, elerium cores, alien alloys, and torn down magnetic weapons caught his eye. Especially that elerium. “Hm…” They rarely had such a thing on display, especially the cores. You usually had to ask for those.

“Hey! WHAT TH—AAH— MM! MM!”

“Who was that?” He asked loudly. The muffled yells of one of his squadmates caught his attention. His finger hovered over the trigger to his shotgun. Eyes glowed again as he looked around. He saw the life signs of everyone. Almost everyone. Someone was missing. “Sound off! Everyone!” He ordered. “Sense anything Asaru?” He sent to him. 

“I heard that! Still here!” Yuri said.

“Nothing odd on the scanners!” Manson said.

“Investigating!” Jody said.

“Joining her!” Joshua added.

No response from Laney. Of course.

“Laney is gone… Her life sign just suddenly disappeared.” Asaru said. “Someone or something is here! There’s an odd disruption in the air.”

“Be careful.” Bradford was leery and what Asaru said didn’t help the feeling. Things were looking like a setup.

As Jody and Joshua entered the room, they last saw Laney head to, no one was there. Minus her Gremlin that was frantically flying around a hole in the ceiling. Dust and debris trickled from it and a broken light fixture swayed back and forth just a little too fast. 

“Laney’s gone, but her Gremlin’s still here.” Joshua said, turning on his comms. “Light fixture is swinging. Think something pulled her through the ceiling.” He cautiously moved over to that hole, turning on his flashlight at the end of his shotgun to see what was up there.

Then something fell from that opening and made several metallic tinks on the ground.

“SHIT!” Jody’s eyes went wide.

“GRENADE!” Joshua yelled. “WE GOT TROUBLE!” He swiftly turned and headed back to the door. A second later, the grenade went off, letting off a loud bang and tossing up a lot of dust and debris. It was a flashbang.

A second later, there was a scuffle, several yells, and gunfire.

“Dammit…” Bradford cursed under his breath. He heard several wooden boards snapping from the left and right sides. Manson let out a blood-curdling yell and then Yuri spitting out several curses and gunfire before he was silenced. They were getting picked off quickly.

“There are psionics at use!” Asaru finally figured it out. “Whoever this is, they are actively hiding themselves with psionics and snuffing out our allies with it.”

“Great.” Bradford mumbled under his breath. He wondered who it was. ADVENT with some Sectoids or some raiders who had a psion? With the former, he wondered if the Sectoids had learned a new trick. “Get read—“

Before he could move to find his teammates, he noticed a black and white blur swinging down from the ceiling. Then something hard hit his chest. 

“AGH!” The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground with a solid thud. His shotgun clattered from his hands.

The world spun as he quickly tried to get his bearings. There was something else in that kick. It hit like a truck and was fogging his mind. Felt like psionics. A jolt arced across his body and mind. Definitely psionics. Asaru was quick at work, clearing it away. As his vision cleared, he saw what kicked him, dropping from the ceiling and heading over to him. 

Shit. ADVENT. 

They had a helmet that reminded him of one of those Stun Lancers. He pulled himself over to his shotgun and quickly grabbed it. Before he could turn it on his attacker, they were on him, kicking the gun out of his hands and planting a knee on his chest. The next second, they had on his hand on his face and in an instant the world blurred again. 

He felt that familiar electricity arc across his brain as his ears roared and drums went at work on his skull. He noticed a blue glow growing around them and streams of energy traveling from him and up their arm.

 Fuck, they’re the psionic! He recognized the unpleasant feeling over taking his mind, but this was different. He felt like he was growing weak. As if his life was being drained from him with each passing second. Hell, he felt like his skin was wrinkling, drying out as the seconds passed. A feeling he was all too familiar with when he and Asaru accidentally over did it one day. Luckily, the squad got them back to Avenger in time for treatment. Recovery was rough.

“Asaru!” He yelled in his mind.

“Working on it.” Asaru replied with a pained voice. “They’re quite strong… Draining us like a vampire.”

Need to get them off! Need to cut this connection! Desperately, he tried pulling their hand from his face, but they had one hell of a death grip. He frantically reached for his knife, but they were blocking it. He could feel the both of them growing weaker by the second. This was not how he wanted to go out.

“Get… off… me…” He spat as his eyes began to glow. A quick burst of energy should do the trick and knock them off.

“Hm…” They muttered as they brought their face closer to his, cocking it to the side. That was interesting. 

“>BOSS! STOP!<“ He heard the flanging voice of one Hybrid somewhere in the back. So the one pinning him down was the head of this group. “>These people are XCOM!<“ 

Bradford understood what they said and wondered if he was hearing things. Why the hell were they telling them to stop? But he noticed something… The draining… the draining suddenly stopped.

“>XCOM?<” The one on top of him asked, turning their head.

“>Yes! XCOM!<“

“XCOM.” This time they uttered in English. That surprised Bradford. And they sounded female. 

She carefully shifted to the side, making sure she still had him pinned as she checked his shoulder. That familiar blue, polygonal patch was there. “Hm…” She brought her hand back to his face, undeterred by the death glare and snarl he had going on. He winced when he felt a connection again, but this time, it felt like probing. A quick search through his mind. A gasp left her mouth.

“Dammit.” She then cursed under her breath. “>EVERYONE! STAND DOWN! THEY’RE FRIENDLIES!<“ She switched back to the alien tongue.

“You seeing… hearing this, Asaru?” He sent a thought to him.

“Yes… this is a turn of events.” Asaru was just as surprised as him. “There’s something… interesting about them. Familiar too.”

Familiar. That again. He wondered what that was about.

Who the hell are these people? Bradford wondered just who this was. Were they Skirmishers? Had to be with their flanging voices and calling him and his people friendlies. He was curious what clan had gotten the jump on them.

He still struggled under his attacker, wishing to be free, but barely had the strength to lift his hand. Oh, great. He noticed her bringing her hand back to his face. He closed his eyes expecting the worse, but… but he felt his strength returning. A sharp gasp escaped from his lips. His life was coming back.

“This is… interesting.” Asaru noted, feeling the life returned to the both of them. “Also sensing the others again and more. Looks like this one was hiding everyone. They’re a strong psion.”

A minute or two passed before she took her hand off his face and got up. And he felt like himself again, minus the soreness to his chest and back.

“Sorry… sorry about that.” An out of breath apology came from her. And she was speaking in English again. But there was no more of the flanging in their voice like the others. Like she turned it off like a switch. Sounded completely human. And oddly familiar. He couldn’t put his finger on it. There was also a strain to her voice and a slight echo. She was slightly hunched over. Did that life transfer reserve take the life out of her? The skin on the lower part of her face… her brownish-red skin looked unnaturally pale and wrinkled. And then, from what he could tell, her neck was black. Like it was burned.

“You stumbled into our trap. We thought you were some of the local raiders that have been plaguing the locals.” She extended a hand to him.

“Geez…” He quietly muttered to himself. 

He eyed her, especially that hand, finally having a chance to study her. She was about a head and a half taller than him, for starters. Never had seen a Hybrid so tall. She wore ADVENT armor; repurposed and repainted black and white. And that helmet was different. At a quick glance, it looked like a Stun Lancers helmet, but it was very different. It didn’t have that red ‘glass-like’ visor, instead an onyx curved piece took its place. Then he noticed this Hybrid had hair. White and brown hair. Hybrids didn’t have hair. This one had to be special as they also had psionics. Blue psionics. He thought he and Asaru were the only ones with that color. What were the Elders up to?

He finally noticed the symbol on the right side of her chest. Those wings and a star. Skirmishers. Ambushed by Skirmishers. His hunch was right. What were the chances? At least to was better than ADVENT.

“You guys set up one hell of an ambush.” He said gruffly. Just how troublesome were the local raiders for them to set this up? He finally took her hand and got up.

Just as he got up, the other Skirmishers were entering the main room, ushering in his people. They were all battered, highly confused, and ticked off. Manson was cursing out one Skirmisher in Persian. He had a dislocated right shoulder, and the Skirmisher was holding a very banged up Daedalus in their hands. Poor robot was letting out several pitiful beeps. No amount of “sorrys” was going to make the engineer calm down.

“>Sorry, boss,<” One Skirmisher in black armor came over to them, “>I missed their patches. I should have waited to give the signal.<”

“>It’s okay.<” She raised her hand to silence them. “>We already planned on taking any who entered alive for questioning. Thankfully, none were killed.<”

With that conversation over, she looked at each XCOM member. They were all pretty banged up. Cuts, bruises, and dislocated joints. At least none are dead. She then looked at Bradford. 

“Come back to our camp. Our medics can patch up any damage.” She offered. “And we have some supplies and intel we can share. Information on vulnerabilities to several outposts and some facilities nearby.”

“I think we should accept.” Asaru eagerly sent to Bradford. 

Bradford crossed his arms. An apology, of sorts. He wondered if he should accept it. They came out here for supplies and anything dealing with ADVENT. He would rather not leave empty-handed. And it would be best to keep the peace. Last thing Betos probably wanted to hear was some of her people attacking him. Hearing another curse from Manson as Yuri, with the help of one Skirmisher, popped his arm back into place had him leaning towards accepting it. A quick patch up would be a good idea. Probably would spend the night with them, depending on how long it took. And he and Asaru probably needed a rest after that draining to be on the safe side. They had their life back, but who knew what the lasting effects could be?

“Everyone needs to recover. We need to recover. And we have questions for this one. I feel like I know that.”

That familiarity Asaru was picking up, and Bradford felt like he was feeling it too. It would be best to investigate that. Hopefully, their Skirmisher host would be more than willing to chat.  

“We accept.”

————————————

“What’s your clan?” Bradford asked. 

As they were following the Skirmishers back to their camp, and were nearly there, he had been studying their armor, looking for identifying markers for one of the clans local from the area. So far, he was finding nothing.

“I know a few in this region that Betos has informed me of, but not seeing anything on you guys’ armor that says who you are.”

“We don’t exactly have a ‘clan’.” Bastion answered. He had come to know her as ‘boss’ or Bastion. She was still wearing her helmet even though her subordinates had removed theirs as a sign of friendship. Must have been secretive. He was half tempted to read her mind, but decided against it. Asaru also chided him, saying it would be a poor idea as this Hybrid was powerful. “We’re more nomadic.”

“She’s being truthful. I can sense that.” Asaru said in his mind.

“Huh.” That was interesting and odd. Even the more nomadic clans had a name. At least Asaru could pick up there were no lies.

“You can call us Twilight Drifters.“ Attis, the one in the black armor, butted in. Looked like she was Bastion’s right-hand woman. ”Boss is a bit hesitant about a clan name, but we all felt like having some sort of name was better than nothing!” She let out a hearty laugh as she smacked Bastion’s back several times. Bastion grunted with each hit. She turned her head. The corners of her lips were twitching as they slowly turned into a frown. That just got another laugh out of Attis and there others joined in.

“Here we are.” Bastion said as she moved some brush out of the way. The camp was active. It was a series of cabins deep in the woods they had taken over to be their base of operations for the time being. A mix of Hybrids, some humans, and aliens were moving about and working.

“Attis. Turel. Get them to the medics.” Bastion instructed. “And Hol’tul and Ermes get the intel from Varkner and his crew. And get some food scrounged up and sleeping quarters prepped for our guests, just in case. ”

“Yes, boss.” They nodded and went about their duties. Attis and Turel were already barking out orders to the others to alert the medics as they led Bradford’s crew away.

“You,” she pointed at Bradford, “follow me.” She started heading over to one cabin off to the right.

He raised a brow, but shrugged. Probably had something to tell him. His ears only. 

“Keep tabs on the others and be prepared for anything.” He sent to Asaru.

“Being cautious?” Asaru replied with a slightly teasing tone. Bradford rolled his eyes.

“Have too. That familiarity comment from earlier has me both curious and worried. Kinda feeling it too, but concerned.”

“Yes… right. I still can’t shake the feeling I know them.” 

He soon followed Bastion.

————————————

After they entered the cabin, Bastion locked the door. Didn’t need their conversation being disturbed.

“Hm.” Bradford looked around. Looked to be her quarters and the situation room all in one. A bed shoved into a corner and then several maps plastered on the walls, along with photographs and various weapon crates, spread about. Reminded him of rougher times before he found the surviving remnants of XCOM. He didn’t miss them.

“Again, I’m sorry for the injuries my people caused to your people.” She as said as she headed over to a table. She placed her rifle on the table and started taking off her armor. The gauntlets were the first things to come off.

“It’s fine.” Bradford said. Well, it was to a point. But he could ignore it. They were still alive. “Just one hell of an ambush. How the hell did you hide from our sensors?” He was curious about that.

“Psionics.” She raised her hand, forming that very energy into an orb. “I can deaden our life signatures. Makes us untraceable to most sensors. Usually takes a strong psionic to pick up something is wrong.” With that, she let the orb disappear. “Though, somehow, you and one of your men noticed.”

“Strong psion indeed.” Asaru noted.

“Huh.” He wondered if Sectoids could do that. That could be a potential headache. Something to note for the future. Especially if ADVENT started fielding Hybrids with psionics. “We just smelled salt. Sea salt. Like there was an ocean nearby.” He still found that strange. “And…” He paused for a moment to raise his hand. Should I?

“You sure about that?” Asaru was hesitant.

“Want to stay in her good graces and gauge her reaction.” He sent back. A second later, he formed a few orbs in his hand, shifting them between his fingers. Just as blue as hers. “I’m a bit of a psion myself, and my man, Yuri, is a budding one.”

Bastion gazed at him as he displayed his powers. Studying him with great intent. “Hm.”

How he wished he could see the face behind the mask. She was good at hiding her emotions.

Just as she pulled off her last bit of armor, she felt woozy. Body wobbling for a moment before her legs gave out. She barely caught herself with the table, hands slamming down to stabilize herself.

“Dammit.” She grumbled under her breath.

Bradford raised a brow. He dashed over to her and helped her back up. “You alright?”

“It’s… complicated.” She grunted. She was out of of breath. “Thanks.”

“You need a medic?” He noticed she still looked pale. She shook her head.

“They can’t really help me.” Another grunt slipped out as she leaned on the table. She looked around until her eyes fell on something. “Can you bring that capsule over to me, please?” She pointed at a cylindrical device.

He fetched the capsule and handed it to her. She thanked him again as fiddled with it. The thing lit up in hexagonal panels that suddenly spun out. A white mist poured out of it. And something glimmered inside of it. She pulled out what looked to be a black crystal about the size of his thumb and sealed the capsule. The crystal had a blue shimmer when the light passed through it.

She gripped the crystal tightly in her hand and channeled her psionics. There was the sound of cracking until a loud snap was heard. Black, blue, and red liquid seeped from her hand. She opened her hand. The crystal was shattered, revealing the liquid came from with in it and a few shards had pierced her skin. Before a single drop could fall, the liquid retreated into those cuts; discoloring her hand to a pitch black. She took in a sharp breath as her body shuddered as the discoloration traveled up her arm. Just as quick as it came, the discoloration disappeared back to a brownish-red. But she looked better. Her skin looked more lively, especially around her face. That paleness was fading.

“Okay…” Bradford wasn’t sure what he had just witnessed. More weird alien stuff. This Hybrid is special. 

“Hm. Something’s wrong with her.” Asaru said. 

“You think?” Bradford felt like that was obvious.

“Yes…” He responded in an annoyed tone. He knew it was obvious. “Reminds me of me and my damage. Just a familiarity I sense deep within her.” He continued. “And the energy from that crystal seems familiar… familiar from one of our dreams.” 

That made Bradford curious and concerned. He didn’t want to think of the unpleasant ones the both of them had been having as of late. A bunch of irritating and cryptic bullshit.

“Just who are you? What type of Hybrid are you?” He asked, pointedly. The question had been nagging at him for some time, and he wanted to cut to the chase.

“Hm…” She grimaced, turning away from him. Looked to be a sensitive subject. 

“Look, I don’t mean to—“

“No, it’s not that.” She interrupted him. “I don’t know how to put this…” She glanced over her shoulder. Looking at him for a few seconds before turning her head away. “I think I know you… and you know me.” As she said that, she began to remove her helmet.

“What?” That made no sense to him. He’d never met her or her group before. Nor did her name ring a bell from some operatives Betos had shared with them. And it was a long list. Just who were they?

“I wasn’t expecting this.” Asaru noted, growing more curious by the second. “Perhaps someone from our past, an operative turned Hybrid, but recovered their memories?”

“That is… possible.” That never even crossed his mind. He knew some Hybrids weren’t clone born, but most could never recall their past; just fragmented dreams. That was for the best.

They watched like a hawk, curious to see what she looked like underneath as that helmet came off. A Hybrid having hair was still a surprise to him. As she removed the helmet, he noticed a few oddities. She had ears. Hybrids didn’t have ears. Then there were no ports from what he could see or those surgical scar lines from them. And there should have been ports, as those helmets connected into them.

She set her helmet down on the table, took in a deep breath, and let out a sigh. Almost like she was hesitant to turn her face fully to him. But she finally turned.

“Long time no see, John.” There was a warmness to her voice as she said that. “Can’t believe you’re alive.”

John? He never told her his first name. Maybe from the probing earlier? “How the hell–“ But as she turned, he paused. Those features, she looked more human than the average Hybrid, but some genetic modification was evident. Eyes spaced further apart and a bit larger, a flared nose, and an odd gauntness to her face. Reminded him of one of the Chosen, but with a more human looking skin tone. But there was something about those features that looked too familiar to him. The freckles… Why was her voice familiar to him? 

“Impossible…” Asaru gasped in his mind. “It’s her…”

“What the… no…” Looked like the gears were turning in Bradford’s mind at the same time. He gasped. He knew her. They knew her. “Commander Reeves? Jynn?”

“In the flesh.” She gestured to herself, then outward.

“No. You can’t be…” No. That was impossible. Had to be. No way she could be the Commander they were searching for. No way this person was his missing best friend. In those dreams…. No. Nightmares. In those nightmares, he saw what she looked like. She was in terrible shape, a walking corpse. And here she was, not in that terrible state, but still equally concerning. 

“You can’t be her.” He shook his head. But he was moving closer to her. 

“It is her… I believe… I can sense it.” Asaru said. He was just as shocked at he was. But he was hesitant in his analyses, carefully scanning her being. Hidden tentacles reaching out. “She’s so… changed and… damaged. She doesn’t seem to be a clone… but that can be hidden, and I’m hesitant to do a deeper scan.”

“I am Jynn Gresham Reeves, Central Officer John Bradford.” There was a slight annoyance in her voice as she looked at him with hooded eyes. Saying his title and full name just a certain way seemed to make him snap too. It was her. But a sigh slipped from her lips. She could understand his disbelief. “Though… changed.”

He reached out to her, raising a hand towards her face, but he stopped. He quickly retracted his hand and turned away, covering his mouth. He tried his best to stifle his disbelief, his weeping. This can’t be her. But all those nightmares of her damaged and partially transformed appearance were playing in his mind.

She let out another sigh and shook her head. “John.” She placed her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away. He couldn’t acknowledge her. He was barely acknowledging Asaru, who was trying to ease his emotions.

It was a minute or two before he turned to face her again. His eyes were bloodshot. Tears stained his cheeks.

“What the hell did They do to you?”

Jynn sighed. Them. She crossed her arms and looked away. 

“A lot of things.” She didn’t know where to start. “They nearly killed me several times with Their experiments as well as being the brains behind ADVENT. Tactical advisor running 24/7 nearly nonstop for several years. Really should be brain dead from all of that.”

“So that theory…” Asaru paused and sighed.

“So that theory is true…” Bradford voiced what Asaru said in his mind. He was thinking it too. He had been always a bit hesitant about that theory, but all the data they had been gathering, mind probing he and Asaru had been doing on captured Captains, and just how ADVENT worked leaned towards it being true. And he hated the idea of it being true, even if it meant she was still alive. 

 “Won’t be surprised if they have a clone of me running the system or some brain scan backup, but I see there has been some breakdown that’s been happening since I escaped.” She then tapped at her chin and looked off to the side. “Though Maker said that probably wouldn’t work due to several reasons.” Shaking her head, a dark chuckle slipped out. She could see the Elders frantically working to make the perfect replica of her, but falling terribly. But she soon sighed. 

“A clone? Hm… that may explain those discrepancies we’ve been picking up in the network off and on over the years.” Asaru noted.

“Great. Something else to investigate and deal with.” Bradford mentally grumbled.

“Raal’Maker…” There was a warmness to her voice as she uttered that name. “I have him to thank that I’m even alive. A rather benevolent Elder.” She still couldn’t believe there was a benevolent one in that Collective, and supposedly his mentor had the same mindset as him. Perhaps there were more levelheaded ones under his mentor. “He tried fixing the damage several times before they ripped me away from him again. Really, my health is still terrible.”

“Benevolent?” Bradford wanted to scoff. He recognized the name, but strongly believed none of those things were benevolent with what they did to the Earth.

“Trust me, he’s a good one out of Their mad Collective. Pretty much the only one who was truly concerned about my damn health.”

Health… Does she know about her split from Asaru? He rubbed his chin, nails picking at the prickly hairs, as he eyed her changed form. That paleness to her face was nearly gone. But her features. Her face looked to gaunt. “What about your health?” He almost didn’t want to ask, but he had to. 

“I can’t put this lightly….” She looked away from him. “I’m dying, John.”

“What?” He knew she was going to say that, but part of him was still in disbelief about the whole thing. She repeated herself, which made him look away. So that was happening, just like Asaru.

“Think she knows it’s because you two split?” He asked Asaru.

“She may… but you should ask. Pry a bit more.” He responded. He wanted to reach out to her, but was hesitant.Was she truly the Commander Reeves they were searching for? 

“Right…” He mentally sighed. Needing more gauging. He looked back at her. “Do you know why?”

“What the Elders have done to me…” She touched her face, pushing at her sharp cheekbones and the strange plating-like growths that lined them. “They’re careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Maker’s warnings.”

“What.” Now that… He wasn’t expecting to hear that. A Chosen. To imagine her as one of those abominations was impossible. But that’s why she looked the way she did. She had some of those familiar features akin to those deathless pests.

“Those fools.” Asaru hissed. Angered welled inside of him.

“A funny thing, almost a twisted irony of sorts. I’m more like Them. Parasites feeding on ‘lesser’ creatures to survive.” She shook her head and laughed. “Maker was right. Something like this would have happened.” She looked back at him. A pang of guilt entered her heart as she bit her lip. She fed on him. Could have gone too far and nearly killed him. But something about his energy was so good. “Sorry about draining you earlier. I try to incapacitate the head of the group first and was just a bit hungry.”

Bradford was about to say something, but quickly snapped it shut. He didn’t know what to say. There was a lot to process.

“At least that draining wasn’t instantaneous.” He cracked a joke. Mainly trying to cheer himself up. She chuckled at that, but soon sighed. “And there’s something else.” What else? He didn’t want to hear it.

Jynn raised her hand and let her psionics flow freely from her hand. It took on the shape of a thin, four armed humanoid creature. Looked kind of like the Elders. 

“I’m missing a part of me. Something happened that day they captured me at the base. I was connected to some being that was helping us. Guiding me.” She tried to explain. “When that Muton grabbed me… I disconnected to that being and haven’t been the same since.” She closed her hand and let the figure dissipate. “Even the Elders knew of whatever was connected to me. Called it the ‘Ascended One’ or something like that. Disappointed it was no longer connected with me when They started Their experiments and got me hooked up to their war machine. But They were still looking for it.”

“She knows.” Both he and Asaru thought at once. It was her.

He looked at the figure she made one last time before she let it disappear. Looked exactly like Asaru.

“I take it…” He paused, trying to find his words. Should Asaru reveal himself now? Both were conflicted about how they should do it. “I take it you’re looking for this thing?”

She nodded. “Been at it for a few years now. Why my group moves around a lot.”

He let out an exasperated sigh as he moved over to an open spot on the table and leaned onto it. He rocked back and forth.  This can’t be happening. But it was. Somehow, all of this was happening.

“So, what have you been up to?” Jynn switched topics, hoping that would soothe his mood. She didn’t want to dwell on the subject for any longer. Hated thinking about her poor state of health. “I see XCOM’s still alive in some capacity.”

“We’ve been fighting back.” He nodded. “And we’ve been looking for you.”

“Just like every other fact on this pl—“ Her ears and eyes perked up. “You’re been… you’ve been looking for me?”

“I didn’t believe you were dead for a second.” He looked at her. He still couldn’t believe it. “They captured you for a reason that day. And the information we found reinforced that… and then some dreams… visions I had.”

“Huh. Really?” She was surprised to hear that. Even more surprised when he said yes. She was touched. He still believed she was alive in this mad world and probably a few others. But the dreams comment was… strange. “How many thought you were crazy? Wasting resources looking for a ghost from the past?” She knew there had to be a good amount of doubters irritated with him and whoever else was insistent that she was still alive.

“A good handful.” He chuckled, shaking his head.

She laughed at that. She could only imagine his irritation at all of those who probably called him and the others crazy.

“Also…” She slowly stifled her laugh, clearing her throat for a moment. She looked at him from head to toe, eyes flashing blue for a second. “How long have you been a psionic?”

“Huh?” A question he wasn’t quite expecting, even though he had showed that off earlier. He was just about to ask her a question. Looked like that had to wait.

“How long have your been a psionic?” She repeated. “You showed me a little earlier and then when I pounced on you, I picked up on it, too. You even resisted me. Don’t recall any tests back in the day from Vahlen showed anything, but then again, we were all busy and I wanted all tests to be allocated to the soldiers.” Couldn’t waste resources on testing just any personnel. Her eyes fell, narrowing into a glare as she thought of the doctor’s eagerness. “And she really wanted to test me… makes me wonder what things would have been like if she did.” She grumbled under her breath.

“This may be the way to tell her.” Asaru said. “Maybe she sensed me and is hesitant to ask?”

“We’ll see.” Bradford replied.

Bradford cleared his throat. Where to start? How to start?

“It’s something… I acquired a few years ago.” He said. “The whole affair was a surprise, really.” Surprise was an understatement. That day was a massive headache, but a great boon to the Resistance.

“A semi-stress or trauma based awakening?” She asked. She knew those could be a nasty way of learning one had psionics.

“Not exactly.” He shook his head. The day was stressful. “I’m actually bonded to… a being. That’s how I have psionic abilities.”

She raised a brow. Did she hear that right? “Repeat that?”

“It’s best if we showed you.” He took a step back. “Asaru.”

As he stepped back, Asaru emerged from him. That tall, slender Ethereal floated towards her. His bulbed tendrils drew close to her, but hovered just a few inches from her body. She gasped at the sight, backing away slightly.

“Hello, Commander Reeves.” He said to her.

“You.” Just the very being she had shown Bradford minutes earlier. She reached out to him, touching his chest. Soft, slightly gelatinous like a jellyfish and almost like he wasn’t there. Like it was just air there with a hint of mass. In turn, he gently touched her arm. He was there, really there. She wasn’t seeing things. She could feel him and that energy felt so familiar.

Trembling eyes jumped between Bradford and Asaru. “What? How?” 

“It’s a long story, Jynn.” Bradford sighed. “Short story is my crew, I, and the Templars found him and the people that were protecting him a few years ago. I was the only viable host for him because of his damage. We’ve been bonded ever since.”

“Damage?” She had so many questions, but hearing that caught her attention.

“Our sudden separation damaged me.” Asaru said. “Damaged us both. Our bond ran deep.”

Jynn opened her mouth, ready to ask more questions, but closed it. She didn’t know what to ask first. Really, what could she ask first? She shook her head. The separation. She knew she was the reason behind for sudden separation that day. Those memories had become more clear overtime with her freedom. She recalled that she was growing more aware of Asaru as the War raged on. And the Ethereal didn’t stop that. No longer wanting to be a silent guide once the Elders were stepping up Their attacks. And then they captured one of Them. 

Just so much happened those happened weeks, if not days, before the base fell. The Elder they had captured and what they said. Many cryptic warnings, threats, and expositions. Somehow They had also sensed Asaru inside of her and were adamant that she turn herself over to the rest of the Collective immediately. She thought nothing of it at first until the same Elder and the others started plaguing her mind with unsettling nightmares. If she only knew what would come next after that interrogation killed that Elder.

She shook her head again, sniffling. Tears already forming.

“Gosh…” Some of her old Cajun accent began to slip out. That made Bradford raise his brows. He hadn’t heard that in a long time. “Gosh darn, I’m… I’m so sorry.” She shook her head. “I did this to the both of us.”

“It’s okay.” Asaru reassured her. Touching her face with one of his tendrils, followed by a hand. “You did not know that would happen. I did not know.”

“I… I…”

“Your quick thinking gave this world more time.” He hushed her. “If They had the both of us… things would be so much worse for this world and so many others. They would have Their own Mosaic.”

“Mosaic.” She growled at the mention of that word. What a horrible machine. So many, if not all, Zudjari enslaved by one of their own. Feeling an anger well up inside of her, she took a step away from him. “They’re still actively working on trying to replicate and ‘improve’ upon it. Mildly thankful that the Fragmenta they’ve tasked with replicating and restoring the Zudjari technology they’ve found have been purposefully dragging their feet.”

“Really?” Asaru wasn’t surprised by what the Elders were doing, but to hear the aliens there were working with were purposefully stalling the development of that infernal machine was interesting.

“Fragmen- what?” Bradford asked. An alien name he was unfamiliar with.

“Hard to describe them. Sapient pieces of metal, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, and who knows what else.” She answered. “They have an extremely thin truce with the Elders, but make their displeasure towards the known with every meeting. Feels like they want to kill the Elders.” She wondered how that truce still existed. Perhaps they were waiting for the right moment to break it and strike against the Elders.

“That’s… interesting.” He rubbed his chin. Aliens that hated the Elders, and these sounded fairly powerful if they had a ‘truce’ going on with the Elders. He wondered how their war went with the Elders… if they even had one. “Can we consider them friendlies… to a point?”

“I’d consider them allies. The only Elder they seem to like working with is Raal’Maker.” She shook her head, but chuckled. It always came back to him. “Also his mentor and those under his mentor. Oh! And one more pleasant Elder, a part of the Earth occupation. Her name is A’Va’pur. Probably another reason why the Earth’s environment isn’t totally screwed over.”

“Another ‘benevolent’ Elder?” He questioned.

“‘Benevolent’ Elders?” Asaru added. Bradford still didn’t believe that was possible.

“Trust me. Despite everything the current sept occupying Earth has done, the ones I spoke of are quite nice.” 

“That is interested.” Asaru tapped at his “chin”. “She speaks the truth. I sense it and so can you.” Asaru picked up no lie from her. Bradford sighed.

“If you say so.” He had to see it to truly believe it, though he could feel the same thing as Asaru.

“So what was that crystal?” Asaru asked. He hovered over to that canister that contained that strange crystal she used earlier. A tendril touched it.

She looked over at him. “Something Raal’Maker supplies me with.”

“You’re still in contact with that, Elder?” Bradford asked, surprised to hear that. She nodded.

“Raal’Maker and I have distant contact.” She said “He provides me that,” she pointed at the canister, “when he can. And some other gear. Lots of dead drops. His brethren as watching him like a hawk. They believe he may have a hand in my escape. He didn’t.”

“Exactly what is it?” Asaru was curious. It had a strange energy to it. Almost as it had a form of sentience to it. Benevolant… and malevolent. 

“The crystalized blood of the Weavers is what he told me.” She said. “Something about it can sustain me for a while.”

“Another group of aliens?” Bradford asked. She nodded.

“A nickname given to them by other species they’ve interacted with. A benevolent bunch that helps others. Kind of like you and your species, Asaru.” She tapped her lip. “I think I remember Maker mentioning your kind and them have met before on good terms.”

“Really?” That was interesting. He longed to meet more of his kind. Now, he really wanted to meet this Maker. “But…” He looked back at the canister and then her. A few tendrils reached out to her. “I sense a… malevolence in this blood. That very malevolence courses through your veins.”

Her mouth pulled back into a grimace. She looked away. “That…”

Bradford raised a brow. He moved closer to the both of them.“What is it?” 

“Let me show the both of you.”

She reached up to her collar of her under armor and pulled it down. From the chin down, her skin was black. An unnatural black. Like something had charred it black. And there was something else. Eyes. Sharp blue eyes that looked like tattoos were near the center of her neck. Four in total. But there were some others on her neck where more eyes could be, except they were closed.

“Goodness…” Asaru hesitantly reached out to her.

“What the hell…” Bradford moved closer to get a better look at it.

“A gift from my ‘benefactor’. A Weaver of questionable morality and methods.” She questioned if she could even call it that. “Something the Elders fear and it equally hates Them for some transgression They committed against it… him… I don’t know. And then several other species They’ve screwed with his ‘friends’ with.” She shook her head. “Feels pity for me for what They’ve and has helped stabilize my form to a point… against my permission.”

This Weaver hated the Elders? At first, Bradford thought they may have had another ally until she continued to describe this being. Sounded like she didn’t like it. Trusted them even less. 

“How does this connect with the crystalized blood?” Asaru asked. A pair of his tendrils were touching the marks on her neck. 

“Somehow, his blood is mixed in with the other Weavers. The Weavers as a whole are deeply connected to one another. Raal’Maker does his best to filter it out, but he can’t get rid of it all.”

“So this ‘benefactor’… this ‘benefactor’ helped you?” Bradford asked next.

She nodded. “He helped stabilize my health and reverse a good amount of damage that was done… with what he had to work it… And he’s made more offers to heal the damage, but I don’t trust him. I’ve refused them.” She really didn’t trust it, though its words were sweet and soothing. “The Elders fear it for a reason, though They’re not innocent from Their crimes.”

He picked at his lip as he listened. This being had the ability to heal her, but only so much. And was making offers to heal her, but with a catch with what she said. “I take it this being is still making offers?” She sadly nodded.

“He’s patient… Scarily patient… The offers haven’t stopped.” She shook her head again; arms tightly wrapping around herself. “Sometimes… Some days… I’m tempted to accept them just to be me again. Human once more.” It was such a dangerous temptation, and she had a feeling if she accepted, something terrible would befall her.

“Damn, Jynn…”

How long had she been suffering? Living such a tortured existence? A cosmic plaything from the sound of it. This is so much worse than his fears of finding her in some lab dissected like some animal and… hopefully dead. 

He reached a hand out to her. Out to her neck to get a better look at himself, but retracted his hand. Instead, he stepped forward and hugged her. Hugged her tightly. He felt like it was the better idea. Felt like she needed a good hug. Jynn froze, arms open and drawn back. She was hesitant to touch him. She had been waiting for this, but not so suddenly. A sigh came out as she wrapped her arms around him. Nestling her chin against his head as tears streamed down her face.

Asaru drifted away from the two, wanting to give them some space. He could sense their shaky emotions. And a deep turmoil and conflicting within Bradford. That love he had for her. It would be interesting to see if he ever brought it up. He wondered how they would tackle that. For the time being, he looked around the room. Especially towards the map and intel she had pinned on the wall.

During the time, she looked at his features. How the years and stress had aged him. She wondered if the scar on his cheek came from the day the base was attacked. Probably wasn’t his only scar from that day and over the years. She ran his fingers through his hair a few times. Seemed like he didn’t mind. In fact, seemed like he welcomed it with the happy “hm” that slipped out. It surprised her to see him let his hair grow a bit, but he had an odd haircut going on. Partially shaved, starting just above his ears.

“About the hair…” She said, breaking the silence. Fingers toying with the little ‘tuft’ of hair. “Interesting cut.”

“Felt like letting it grow out.”

“But the partial shave?” She asked next, fingers feeling the border between the shaved and non-shaved side. He just shrugged. He didn’t really have an answer.

“Huh.” She just chuckled. “The little tuft is cute.” She flicked it.

“I have to ask…” Bradford said, pulling his face back to look at her. There was a question nagging at the back of his mind. Why hadn’t she reached out to XCOM? “Sounds like you’ve been free of the Elders for some time and been running with the Skirmishers for a while…” His voice trailed off, wondering how he should touch the subject. He shook his head. No scratch that. The answer is obvious. “Scratch that question…”

“What’s the question?”

“No, no, no…” He shook his head again. “The answer is obvious why you never contacted us. Never contacted XCOM. What’s happened to you. How you look.” He could barely imagine how that would have gone, especially if they didn’t have Asaru. Probably a hefty amount of disbelief. Part of him was still in that territory. 

She sighed hearing that. He was perceptive. “That’s exactly why… and then I didn’t know if it was being run by survivors or just a bunch of bandits stealing the name. I’ve run into quite a few of the latter.”

“Ugh… tell me about it.” He hated those bandits the most. They already had to deal with the doubters who thought XCOM was a part of the Council and Earth’s leaders that sold out the Earth to the aliens when they were betrayed by them. That was a headache with the Reapers’ for the longest until Volk finally straightened things out. “Having to clear XCOM’s name in some regions is a pain in the ass.”

“I can only imagine the trouble.” She chuckled. 

The two continued to stay in each other’s arms. Bradford eventually brought his hands went up to her face to examine her features. This new form twisted by the Elders. Like the Chosen, but a proto-form of sorts. But there were so many familiar features. Those freckles. It was her, but… she was so changed. And dying. He ran his fingers down her jawline, expecting to feel any remnants of pulled ports under the skin, something some Skirmishers did once they were freed. But there was nothing. It was smooth, besides that wrinkled skin that reminded him too much of Dhay-Vol’s, the Warlock, face. Why did she have to look like them?

 She seemed unfazed by him doing that. Almost expecting him to do that. She welcomed it. The touch of an old friend. His hands felt nice. A bit rough from calluses, but nice.

“At least they let me keep my freckles.” A little joke to lighten the mood. He chuckled for a moment before the sadness returned.

“Hmph.” He let out a snort, shaking his head. At least she could make a joke out of such a terrible thing. “How kind of Them.”

A question nagged at the back of his mind. Something she said earlier. They’re careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Maker’s warnings. Just why did the Elders risk doing such a thing?

“Why did the Elders do this?” He asked. She let out an annoyed snort.

“They wanted an asset and weapon in more ways than one.” She explained. “XCOM was coming back. What better way than to have the leader of said group be the one to crush it?” The Elders enjoyed doing that. The Hunter was a fine example of that. A Reaper turned against his own kind. “Kon-Ris…” She shook her head. There was sadness in her voice. She pitied him. “They don’t care if they have to break you to remake you. Even when one of their brightest advises against it.”

“…Why.”

Hearing that just hurt him deeply. To imagine, if she was still in Their clutches, she would be one of those Chosen. Having to fight an old friend for Earth’s freedom. How would have that gone? What would they have done if they had learned of her identity? What would he have done?

As he continued studied her features, he felt another pang in his heart. The woman he loved had been tormented by those Elders. And despite seeing her like this, he still loved her. He dropped his hands down to her shoulders. Head lowering, gaze fixed on the ground, as he dug his fingers into her shoulders. She sigh and patted his back. She hadn’t let go.

“I never got to tell you…” He paused, hesitant to continue speaking. 

Should he tell her? This could be my only chance. She is dying. How long will she live if this can’t be fixed?

Asaru turned his attention towards him, sensing what was about to do. “Careful now. Steady yourself.”

“Tell me what? John?” She noticed something glisten, falling to the floor. Tears again. They must have been flowing. 

He tightened his grip again as he took in several shaky breaths. He raised his head. Those tears were flowing, just streaming down his face. 

“That I love you.” He finally said it. Fighting off any hesitation that wanted to come through. Felt like an enormous weight was taken off his chest.

She blinked once. Then twice. Eyes darted around, landing on Asaru, who quickly turned away, before focusing back on him. He looked serious. Did she hear that correctly?

“W-w-what?”

“I love you, Jynn.” He repeated himself. More confidence in his voice. “I’ve had these feelings since we were teenagers.” Sometimes he wondered how she never noticed it back then, but she was rather oblivious to guys flirting at her kin high school. “Just kept it under wraps when we met again because of the Invasion. Couldn’t have them getting in the way. Kept it strictly business.” 

“Uh…” Her mouth hung open. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. This was a revelation to her. Her lack of response did not surprise him. Probably not the best time to tell her, but he needed to get it off his chest.

“I am such an idiot…” She let out an exasperated sigh.

“Huh?” Not the response he was expecting.

She shook her head and smacked her forehead with her palm. “My mother was always the one to point out guys that had a crush on me and I’d just ignore her. She did the same with you!”

“Really?” He asked, holding back a snort in-between sniffles. She nodded.

“Hell!” She smacked herself again. “Explains why my dad was fine with me hanging out with you so much and inviting you on trips.”

“Really?” Another surprising detail. He and Mr. Reeves had a friendly relationship, but he found her father to be a rather intimidating person when he was younger. “He did scare me.” 

“Seriously?” She held back a snort.

“To a teenager, a military man like him was very intimidating.”

She thought for a moment. A snort slipped out. “You’ve got a point there.”

Eventually, after the declaration, Bradford pulled away from her. Almost having to pry himself from her grasp. He didn’t want to move away, but he needed to breathe. Just so many thoughts and emotions were going through his head. He paced around the cabin as he rubbed his face. 

At least she didn’t negatively react to me sharing my feelings. He was happy that didn’t sour the mood.

As he paced, he looked around the room. Eyes falling onto the maps, photos, and blueprints that Asaru was looking at. One photo had a big red circle around it and a quick note scribbled next to it that said “SEND TO BETOS”.

Betos.

“So how long have you been with the Skirmishers.” He asked. He had stopped in front of the photo that had the note. He noticed another photo circled and an arrow pointing to a location. And another note saying, “SCOPE OUT MORE. HIGH SECURITY. HIGH PRIEST IS HEAD OF SECURITY. MAY BE THE PLACE. WILL NEED BACKUP. KEEP IT STEALTHY.”

“About five years or so.” She said. “Still not fully one of them, to be honest.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, how I’m more nomadic for staters and I’ve never told Betos my identity.” She explained. “She never pressed me again once I told her it was for my safety and hers if she never knew it. Last thing I need is the Chosen knowing who I’m with. Especially Jax-Rai.” 

She and her group had far too many close calls with the Assassin. She was thankful Jax-Rai never used her psionics like Dhay-Vol. Would have figured out who she was ages ago, but thankfully her identity was still hidden from them. But she piqued their collective interest. A psionically capable ‘hybrid’ was running around with the Skirmishers. That caused a new set of problems for her.

“Those things.” He grimaced. He had received some intel from the other factions that those three were hunting something for the Elders, but they didn’t know what. The information was always classified on another Network they had no clue of how to reach. Now he knew it was her.

“It’s amazing you’ve managed to avoid them for so long.” Asaru said.

“They’ve been annoying.” Which was an understatement. “I avoid Dhay-Vol the best I can. Trying to hide my psionic signature when he’s on his hunt is nerve-wracking.” She hated him the most. Had to fry his brain on a few occasions just to escape. Somehow, he was still oblivious to her identity. Should have picked up her psionic signature from her attacks. But maybe her benefactor, that Voice, was hiding it? That thought crossed her mind many times. He could have altered her signature ever so slightly to aid her.

 “Jax-Rai is a pain and I think I’ve pissed her off with how much my people and I have escaped. And we’ve bested her a few times… .” She shook her head, but chuckled. “Though I think she enjoys the chase. Exhilarating is how she’s described it.” Such an odd comment to receive after besting her. “Kind of like her brother, Kon-Ris. Though not as mad…” She bit her lip. “Hunter… I feel like he’s figured out who I am… but is keeping it secret for some reason.”

Bradford couldn’t imagine the amount of stress she was under, having to hide from those three. But her comment about the Hunter interested him. The wildcard of the siblings.“He’s figured you out?”

“Think so. Said a few things he shouldn’t know about me. Enjoys calling me Gresham and brings up XCOM a lot.”

“That’s interesting…” Asaru noted. 

“And he hasn’t told the others or the Elders?”

“Hates his siblings and hates the Elders even more… Probably some part of his brain blocks the info from the Elders.” She was curious how They hadn’t picked that detail up yet. “He’s always been a wildcard for the Elders after an incident with the Reapers happened that made him more flippant. Why he hunts ADVENT and aliens too.”

“We’ve noticed that a few times.” Asaru said. “He is an interesting one. Almost as if he has a split personality.”

“I believe he does, literally.” Jynn said. “I’ve heard several voices in his head. Mostly the Elders, but there’s this small voice. Crying for help. Trying to remember who he was. I believe that may be the old him.”

“Huh.” Both Asaru and Bradford responded. Something to look into later. Questions from Volk.

“So what’s this? Noticed Asaru staring at this intently.” Bradford pointed at the photo with the note of wanting to scope out some facility with high security. And the photo showed that. There were standard Troopers and MECS all over the place.

“The possible clone.” Asaru said as he shifted his attention back to the photo and intel.”

“Hm?” She went over to see what he was pointing at. “Oh that. Yes, I have a feeling that’s where they may have my clone or ‘backup brain’ running. Want to take it out. Disrupt their tactical information Network again.”

“Ah.” Bradford simply nodded. He would have to ask about that in greater detail another time. Still couldn’t believe that theory was true. Explained how ADVENT worked like a well-oiled machine since they were founded.

“So, when’s the raid happening?” He asked.

“Still in the works. Have to scope it out more and request backup from the local Skirmisher clans.” She shook her head. “Though I want to keep it stealthy as possible. Don’t want them teleporting the asset and any other backups out of the place before we get to it.”

“Hm.” Smart. He knew he had some facilities he had people scouting. Get as more information as you can before striking. But there was always a risk. He thought for a moment as he rubbed his chin. “Well, you could… join us. Join XCOM.” He suggested. “We’d be glad to back you up. Glad to have you back.”

Asaru looked at him when he said that. He was thinking of them making the offer, but was unsure, sensing a deep unease within Jynn about her current form.

She blinked a few times as her eyes went wide. Both brows raised high. He has to be kidding. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. 

“XCOM is your home.”

“John…” She wasn’t sure of that anymore.

“Our medical team may be able to help you.” He almost sounded desperate as he said that. “Hell, the Templars may be able to help you! You and Asaru need to re-bond!”

It was a tempting offer, and the latter was true. She could sense they both needed that, but she wasn’t so sure.

“What will your people think of me?” She asked. “Is there anyone there besides you that knows me?”

“Corvo Samaras.” He quickly responded. As if he was prepared for that question. “He was one of the training officers that moved between the bases fairly frequently. Got nicknamed the ‘slave master monk’ by most of the recruits.” 

After naming him, he started naming more. Soldiers, doctors, engineers, and other staff that had survived the downfall of all the bases. She covered her mouth as she listened to him. But from her trembling eyes betrayed her. She recognized several of the names.

“So many of you… so many of you guys survived.”

“And we’re still finding more as the years pass by.” He smiled. “Most haven’t given up the fight. They’ve been eager to join up with us.” He chuckled. “And you’ll be surprised with who’s running the Templars.” Mentioning that made his smile grow into a grin. That was still a surprise that day. He still wanted to get Geist for being cryptic for all those years.

“Yes, that was quite the surprise. He hasn’t changed much.” Asaru agreed.

She looked away, bitting her lip. Join them? It was such a tempting offer. XCOM was her home. But so much had change. She had changed. “But what will they think of me?” That was something he didn’t want to think about, but knew it would be a problem.

“I know some back on the ship will be hesitant. Some won’t agree…” He knew several were still quite anti-alien; including Hybrids. And some still questioned his bond with Asaru. They were barely tolerant of the Skirmishers and any aliens that had defected. Given the opportunity, they would kill them. It was rough keeping that from happening with some meetings and joint missions.

Sensing his mind drift off to the darker parts, Asaru placed a hand on his shoulder. Bradford glanced at him and nodded. He needed that. Needed to stay positive. 

“But you…” He gestured to her. “You’re alive.“ He felt like that was the only thing that mattered. “I don’t think I can let this chance meeting be a secret… Can’t just suddenly drop the search for you. Some will question that.”

He had a point there.

“I don’t know.” But she was unsure. She turned away, taking a few steps away from the both of them. “I have to think about it.”

He reached out to her, but stopped himself. “Just think about it.”

“But I must ask… which part of you is asking this?” She glanced over her shoulder. “That military side of you? Or the part that loves me?” That declaration was still on her mind.

He looked away, closing his eyes. He placed on his chest and clutched it. “Both.” He couldn’t lie. He didn’t want to lose her again.

“Hm.” She looked at Asaru, who only nodded, confirming what he said. That’s… concerning. But made sense. It just made her leery. And something else bothered her. More personal.

She paced around the room as she mulled over his offer. It was so tempting, but she had her worries. But she also knew she and Asaru needed to re-bond at some point. She could sense he was doing fine with Bradford, hovering in some sort of stable condition, but there was still that lingering damage to him. It made her heart hurt.

 And then what would her people think? She couldn’t just leave them behind. She shook her head. Like they would let that happen. They would follow her to the ends of the Earth, no matter what. They told her that on several occasions. Swearing their loyalty to her despite her protests. They were beyond grateful that they were free of the Elders’ enslavement.

She looked back over at them. Both had busied themselves with looking at the intel and discussed some things.

“Maybe…” She muttered as she went back over to him. “Maybe I can join… rejoin XCOM. My people and I can join you all.”

“Hm?” Both glanced over their shoulders. Looked like they were deep in thought. It took both a moment to process what she said. “Would they be fine with that?”

She nodded. “My people are flexible. Practically have sworn their loyalty to me. They listen to me first before listening to Betos.” That was a headache, but somehow they worked around it.

“That is interesting, but XCOM can always use more people.” Asaru chuckled.

“Huh.” Bradford nodded. Looked like she never lost her commanding skills. That made him smile. “Have to figure out the logistics, but we can always use more people. Though integrating more Hybrids is going to be interesting.”

“And there’s always that…” Asaru shook his head. That was a constant headache, no matter what.

“Guess we’ll just have to see what happens when you introduce us to everyone.”

“Right.” He said, then sighed. “Think I need to send a warning first so a few of the levelheaded staff can help me. Got a radio I can borrow?”

“That sounds smart. And yes, we do.”

  Bradford looked at his watch, then over to the window. Through the slits of the curtain, he could see the sun disappearing behind the trees as the sky darkened. He let out a yawn before rubbing his temples. Looks like the effects from the ambush were finally kicking in.

“Think we may be staying for the night.” Was probably for the best. Never fun trekking through a forest in the night. Anything could happen.

“It would be wise to do so. We need to recover.” Asaru said.

“Sleeping quarters should be prepared for you all by now.” Jynn said. “And we should have plenty of food to go around.”

“Thanks for the generosity.” And he meant it.

“It’s what we do.” She smiled.

“Back to joining… rejoining XCOM… I would like to snuff out the local raiders before leaving. A bunch of psychopaths.” She said. A hiss slipped out as she wrinkled her nose. The world was already hard to live in with ADVENT running things, and some people just had to make it worse. No ounce of empathy. No sense of remorse. Everyone was fair game as they pillaged any camp, haven, or ‘authorize’ settlement they came across. Especially the weak. “Also, I’m waiting for some of my people to return from supply runs. Should only be a few more days.”

“I think we can help with that and we won’t be leaving this region for a while, so we can wait on those supply runs.”

“Sounds likes a plan.”

She then gently patted his back a few times before heading to the door.

“And Asaru.” She turned to him. In a way, she couldn’t believe he was there. She was so happy she no longer had to search for him.

“Yes?”

“I know we need to re-bond, but I don’t think we can do that anytime soon.” She sighed. “I feel like we’ll only hurt each other further. A downward spiral of draining will occur.”

“I also sense that.” He nodded. “I believe we’ll need a medium to facilitate the bond… but also your body needs to be healed.” A few tendrils touched her body. “Your conversion, barely at the halfway mark… I question if this can be undone or should it be allowed to finish…” And he didn’t like the idea of it being finished. A new form forced onto her by the Elders.

“Maker believes he may be able to reverse this…” And she prayed he could. “If not,” she tried to hold back a sigh, but one slipped out, “he has selected a few species that would best suit me to complete this transformation and purge the Elder DNA from my system. Right now, he’s trying his best to get the heat off of him so we can properly meet.” She wondered how long that would take. “Though he has his worries about how the process may go.”

Bradford closed his eyes tightly, hearing what she said. The chance of her condition being unreversible tore at him and hoped it could be done. “Is he worried about lasting damage affecting the process?” Bradford asked.

“That’s one thing, and then one of the methods he’ll be using.”

“What would that be?” Asaru asked, curious.

“He’s been cagey about it, but I think it deals with the blood of the Weavers and their DNA. And I understand why… But I’m willing to take the risk.”

“Really?” Bradford questioned, with a hint of worry in his voice.  “Are you sure?”

“I just want to be me again. Not some abomination of a weapon of the Elders.” She shook her head. “Hell… hell… I’ll take another Hybrid form that doesn’t have Their touch and broken DNA.”

“Hm…” He was worried, but it would be a discussion for another day.

“Now,” she clasped her hands tightly and forced a smile, really wanting to change the subject, “let’s get your current crew updated on who I am and what’s going on.” She then unlocked the door. “And then go from there.”

He nodded and followed. Asaru merged back with him. “It’s going to be interesting telling them. Laney may remember you. She’s another soldier that spent most of her time in the main HQ.”

“Laney?” The name didn’t ring a bell.

“Laney Stavros. She was a medic. Still is a medic.” 

“Still doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Maybe seeing her face should jog some memories.”

“Maybe.” Hopefully it would do the trick. There was a glimmer in her eye. She was somewhat excited to meet a survivor from the old base.

“Also…” She paused as she opened the door. “We’re going to have to talk about this… love… thing.” He was waiting for that.

He nodded, a small sigh slipped out. “I know.”

“It could become quite troublesome when I rejoin and th—“

“I know.” He cut her off. He knew the risks. “I’ll try to push it to the side, but…” He paused, sighing as he looked away for a second. He turned back and looked her in the eyes. “I don’t want to lose you again. Okay?”

Her brows scrunched together, part of her lips turned into a grimace. “Hm.” Her eyes flashed blue for a second. She was picking up a lot of strong emotions from him. And a lot of conflicting ones. “Yes… And you still feel this way, especially after seeing how I am now?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice.

She closed her eyes and huffed. What to say? She didn’t know what to say.  Now she was feeling conflicted. She felt something deep inside of her. Almost as if she felt the same way towards him, but wasn’t so sure. That part of her was a mess already. And then her current state of health wasn’t helping. She couldn’t reciprocate those feelings… for several reasons. 

She sighed deeply, closing her eyes tightly. “I want to drink, but can’t.” Damn Hybrid makeup.

“Jynn, no.” He put a hand on her back. “I know the feeling, and that leads nowhere good. Trust me.” That was a hard habit to break, and he still needed to be careful. “And then your Hybrid make up. Alcohol oxidizing into formic acid. Go blind and die. Give or take some steps.” He shook his head, remembering that being explained to them. Just how much of it was a side effect of how the Elders built the Hybrids or did They do it on purpose as a control method. He was leaning towards the latter. “Thooooough”, he extended that for as long as he could as he leaned closer, “some of our resident chemistry majors may have figured out something Hybrids can imbibe in. It has become a rather lucrative bargaining item.” What some would do in their spare time… and for love.A snort slipped out from her. “Well… we’ll discuss this later. All of it.” Her voice trailed off as she continued out the door.

“Understood.” He nodded and followed. “I’ll hold you to it.”

“Don’t make me regret it. All of this.” Though she didn’t feel like she was going to. This all felt like a new start, that light shining, burning through the depths of an ensuring darkness.

He chuckled. “I can’t promise anything. Just don't count your chickens before they hatch.” A yelp slipped out. Eyes flashing a quick blue, she gave him a slight shock of energy.

“Jerk.” She was grinning.

“Missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

[etherealvoidechoes]

Coasting the Endless Waves - VoidWalker AU - Reassurance

Hey all! ＾＿ －）≡★. Otto back again posting this fic with the permission of Linx(Jane).

It deals with this AU idea, taking place after Jynn and Asaru were rescued.

EDIT: Forgot to add a note from Linx. “Apologies if the back and forth on pronouns for Jynn and Asaru gets confusing, but who’s in control fluxes back and forth hard in the beginning of this mess.”

Warnings: Mild language, light nudity, some blood, and think that’s just about it.

7.2k

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Edit: 11/19/2025 - Made some updates and edits.

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“So… what’s going on, Geist? What progress have you all made? Since, you know…”

These weren’t questions that Bradford wanted to ask, but he needed answer on how Commander Reeves and Asaru were doing. So much had been done to the two.

Geist met his eyes for a moment before glancing at the ground. Eyes studying the subtle cracks in the concrete as a vortex of thoughts spun in his mind. The words he wanted to speak would string together one by one, slowly coalescing into something concrete that would flow off his tongue. But as he opened his mouth to speak, it all fell apart; like a desert suddenly overtook his mouth, hoarse sounds only came out as his tongue uselessly flapped about. He shook his head, quickly shutting his mouth, and raised a hand to rub his throat as he fruitlessly tried to clear.  

No. Too harsh. He won’t take it well. A great deal of damage we’ve struggled to heal and correct. 

 He raised his other hand to his eyes and rubbed them as a deep sigh came out; those shoulders rose for a moment before falling. Those glowing purple veins sprawling across his arms trembled, becoming brighter for a moment, as psionic energy slowly appeared and coiled around his arms.

But he needs to know. I have to speak the truth. Carefully. Must gauge his reactions. 

“Oh…” A long, drawn-out sigh came out. He was still rubbing his eyes before finally dragging his hand down, pulling at his face. That usual bright-eyed and jovial nature wasn’t there. His face was sullen, almost angered. And those eyes were just as sad as Bradford’s. “Where do I even start, my friend?”

Geist and his people had their work cut out for them once XCOM sent that dreadful message weeks ago. They had found the Commander and Asaru after their ill-fated recapture by Dhay-Vol’s hands months ago, but the Elders… the Elders had broken both their minds and bodies. They were quick to re-chip Jynn and force her back to running ADVENT, but that never took properly due to her fully emerged and strengthened psionics, connection to Asaru, and strong will not to be used again. Then, in a bid to keep Jynn permanently under Their control, and punishment for her continued refusal to be reclaimed, They started that dreadful “Ascension” process to convert her into a Chosen.

Whilst doing that to her, They were tearing Asaru apart to harvest his DNA with great excitement. An unadulterated specimen of Their own species, one that took a different path in Their evolution. How that pure, choice DNA would aid greatly in the Avatar project to build Their new bodies and allow those bodies to be crafted to mimic Their true forms after the initial phases were perfected, so They could transfer Their minds over.

And the Elders did not care how much pain this inflicted on the two. How much it damaged their bodies and minds. 

“They could be rebuilt, remade, reshaped. And they deserve this for their defiance against Us. They will serve a higher purpose.”

The Elders so arrogantly thought. But Their actions came back to bite Them. The two were reshaped, but not by the vision of the Elders. A botched metamorphosis. Everything went wrong when They forcefully re-bonded Asaru to Jynn. That Voice, that Weaver, snuck in and applied his Void trickery; pulling at those caring gifts and strings he gave to Jynn long ago.

So the Elders “gained” a new weapon. A vengeful weapon at that; so consumed by pain and anguish. A darkened reflection, ready to consume Them like the rotten parasites They truly were.

“Commander Reeves and Asaru… are doing better mentally and physically since you all brought them here.” There was some hesitance to Geist’s voice as he carefully searched his thoughts. His sight dropped to the floor once more, nervously bouncing between dents in the metal and concrete. Though he knew Bradford told him not to hold back, he still wanted to carefully pick his words. “My acolytes and I are still hard at work stabilizing their new body while our scientists toil away on other issues. And we have been working closely with your doctors, filling them in on every session and change that has happened.”

“It’s just…” He paused, biting at his lower lip. How to say it?

“Spit out.” Bradford crossed his arms; a foot tapped quickly against the floor like a rabbit’s. “Don’t hold back. I expect to hear the worst. Tygan and the others have shown me the data. Hell… the day we found the two…”

Geist closed his eyes tightly and nodded. Best not to sugarcoat his words. 

“I’m not sure what else we can do. Their minds are more separate now, but neither of us has the resources to dig deeper and fully untangle their minds and fix the damage done to their bodies and DNA. They are still in a fragile state.” He said. “The Elders were… careless. And that is an understatement. The damage…” 

Pausing, he shook his head before shifting his head towards the meditation chamber — a ways away — they were housing the two in. His body trembled, psionic veins bulged and pulsed, as his mind clearly remembered all the pain, anguish, and seething anger radiating off the two when XCOM arrived. It had greatly diminished, but he could still feel it faintly lingering through the base. So toxic.

“Their… damage… it reminds me so much of Dhay-Vol’s, though his comes from the Elders’ pouring far too much of their psionic energy into him, twisting what is the Earth’s, as they tinkered with his genetic code. For Reeves and Asaru…” He paused, raising his hand back to his head. “The two were still recovering, only to be torn apart again, bond partially severed, and then forcefully re-merged after both went through horrific experiments. It’s amazing the two are even alive, to be honest.”

That foot tapping stopped. Bradford closed his eyes as a sharp sigh came out. “Was expecting to hear that.” Though not the news he wanted to hear, he was just happy they could do something since — at the time — they had been unable to get in contact with that friendly Elder, Raal’Maker. “How fragile a state are we talking of?”

“Quite fragile. We haven’t moved them from the central meditation chamber since you brought them here.” He shook his head. “The concentrated psionic energies are keeping them stable, and then it is the best area to perform all the treatments, though there have been a few close calls.”

“Let me guess, the psionic draining?” Something Bradford never liked being on the receiving end of, and he and his squad nearly died that day they found the two.

Geist nodded. There was a slight tremble in one of his arms. A few of those purple veins bulged before relaxing. “They occasionally get an urge to feed on the life force of the living. Preferably, psions.’Soothes the pain,’ or so they tell us.” He explained. “Though from Tygan’s and Marin’s notes, and one of our doctors, they believe it’s how they are trying to repair themselves.” 

Bradford closed his eyes tightly, hearing that. His mind flashed back to when they had found the two. They could feel the anger, pure unbridled hatred radiating off of their psionics, and it was all nicely wrapped up in a wave of pain that was nearly crippling. “How is that pain now?”

“Less, but still bothersome for both of them.” He said. “They’ve described it as if every fiber of their beings, new and old, is on fire. Like they are still being prodded, stabbed, and cut open by the Elders and their drones every waking moment.”

Bradford sighed. He expected that, but it still bothered his heart. “How are they right now?”

“Moderately fine, since I last checked two hours ago.”

Bradford’s arms quickly unfolded before he threw them up into the air. “Two hours ago!?” Wasn’t there a delicate condition he needed to keep a close eye on?

“John, please.” Geist just rolled his eyes. “I have my most trusted acolytes and doctors watching over them. They’re in the main meditation chamber, remember. They are fine.” He then tapped the side of his head twice. Always ready to listen for a psi call. “Currently, they are swimming in the waters from what my acolytes have updated me with.”

A few grumbles slipped from Bradford’s lips as his arms slowly returned to their previously crossed state. Calm that brain of yours, lover boy. A little insult aimed at himself to try to keep a level head. He took a moment to rub his face as he gathered his thoughts. “Swimming?” That caught his interest.

“They’ve grown quite fond of the water due to their new shared form. Seems to keep both of them calm and their minds occupied.” Geist explained. One of the few boons that helped with the Templars’ treatments. “At times, they even sleep deep in the pools instead of topside. They say it’s comforting.”

“Hm.” More interesting developments, but they all made sense. “Asaru already looked like a jellyfish, and Jynn’s new body looks pretty aquatic…” Bradford rubbed his chin. So much to get used to now. 

More flashbacks to that day ran through his mind. He couldn’t believe what he saw. Barely recognized the two. A new form, a few heads taller than the Chosen were, and they were thrashing those undying pests like they were nothing but toys, but some features were still the same. Some of Jynn’s brownish-red skin tone remained in all that blue, and Asaru’s tentacles were still there. But everything… just everything else…

“That night…” Bradford grumbled under his breath as his mind just dwelled on it some more. The two were so angry and hurting. Crying as they came to their senses when they realized they had attacked him and the others, thinking they were more fodder of the Elders. It felt like forever trying to calm them down again and get them out of that place before it imploded from the flooding waters. The ride back in the Skyranger was tense. Felt like he was facing a hurricane trying to keep them calm.

He continued to grumble and soon began to pace around. The sound of his boots clacking against the metal flooring was oddly calming. 

Geist stayed quiet. In a way, he was meditating on his own thoughts and communicating with his people.

A few minutes passed before he finally stopped pacing and looked at Geist.

 “Can I see her… them?” Bradford asked.

A slight chuckle slipped out. Geist had been waiting for that. Placing his hands on his knees, he got up. “I don’t think they’ll mind seeing a friendly face, but I can’t guarantee either one will be talkative.” He hoped they at least would talk a little. “Follow.” He gestured for Bradford to follow him. He did so.

Geist informed him of a few protocols they had set up for everyone’s safety. What lines to cross in the room and when. Things he shouldn’t mention unless he wanted to become a lifeless husk. And a few other things.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination. A little psionic energy and the door to the chamber opened, and there were a number of people in there. Mostly acolytes.

“Like one of the many test designs for Gollop Chamber.” Bradford mumbled under his breath as those doors opened. It was always a sight to behold.

There was a massive pool of clear water in the center that was fed by a waterfall cascading down the cave wall in the very back. There was a walkway cutting through the middle of the pool, leading to a circular platform in the center. A few more walkways branched off from the main path, leading to more platforms, occupied by various Templars meditating. Streams and orbs of psionic energy flowed freely through the room.

Taking a step forward, Bradford paused as his nose twisted almost immediately as the potent scent of fish smacked his nose. Accidentally taking a deeper whiff, he gagged and let out a few rough coughs.

“What’s *cough*  what’s with the *cough* fish smell?” The words barely came out.

“Ah, that.” Geist raised a finger. “Sorry for no warning. It’s Reeve’s and Asaru’s meal of choice. They prefer fresh-caught and as raw as possible.”

“… Seriously?” He believed him, with their new look, but part of him didn’t want to.

“You’ll see shortly. And it’s their feeding time.~” Geist said with a wicked smile, humming towards the end as he continued into the room.

Bradford felt his brow twitch and sighed. Clearing his throat and rubbing his nose a few times, he caught up to him.

As they came closer to the pool, Geist stretched out his arm and stopped him. Bradford was about to say something, but then remembered the protocols. His body shuddered. Best not to break them.

Geist soon talked to his people to see what non-critical things had been going on. A few people were cracking open a massive cooler and pulling out some fresh fish. Feeding time indeed.

As he did so, Bradford partially listened in as his eyes wandered over to the pool, watching the still waters.

“So much deeper than the one at the main base.” He quietly commented. He wondered how deep the pool was. Then he saw something deep in the waters. Swimming in the dark depths, barely illuminated by a soft bioluminescent blue glow radiating from it. Not it. Them. Her.

“She’s really… they’ve really taken to water.” He mumbled as he watched how they swam so effortlessly, barely moving their four arms and legs. Hair, tentacles, and tail flowed freely.

“Hm?” He mumbled as they leisurely swam by. “Oh! Oh…” His eyes shifted away as a hand went to his face; he fake coughed to cover up his reddening face.

Though he could only see their backside, they… Jynn… was still naked, like the day they rescued the two.

Guess they haven’t figured out clothes for them yet. He thought to himself. His eyes found them again.

Studying that new form once again. A silky smooth, deep teal had replaced most of Jynn’s brown skin. Her head was somewhere in between the shape of Hybrid’s and Chosen’s — including the facial features — though the forehead jutted out slightly as it swept back into a three-tailed fin. And there were more fins on her back and forearms.

“So much to get used to… still beautiful… in a strange way.” There was something alluring about how Jynn looked now. Even with everything… he still loved her. 

“Stay right there, John.” Geist said.

Bradford barely heard Geist speak to him until he noticed the man take a few steps towards the edge.

“Commander Reeves! Asaru!” He called out, kneeling over the waters ever so slightly. The psionic energies in the room swirled about. “I would like to have a word with you.”

Jynn stopped swimming suddenly before her face suddenly jerked towards Geist. Eight eyes focused on him, as her nose wrinkled and a grimace formed. A few seconds passed before she swam.

Geist took a step back. “Remember what I told you.” He held a hand back towards Bradford.

“I remember.” Bradford stayed put. He did not want to be on the receiving end of a psionic draining again. What Jynn and Asaru did was vicious. So much worse than a Sectoid’s drain. Made it look like child’s play.

A minute or two passed before Jynn poked part of her head out of the water. The membrane covering her eyes slipped back; her human eyes, a piercing blue(no longer a hazel brown) against black sclera, scanned the room. Geist, the one who disturbed them, was just a few feet away from the edge, and then… Bradford. Her eyes narrowed on him for a moment before switching back to Geist. A few tentacles slowly emerged from the water, spreading out the scan of the room further.

Geist just smiled. “Just checking up on you two. No psionic treatment sessions for today. I hope all has been well.” With his hand, he cheerily gestured towards his people, who were bringing out the fish. “And I see you will have quite a selection of fish to pick from today. Mostly native species, but there are a few of the alien species the Elders have let roam.” The work to stabilize Earth’s ecosystem would be such a task in the future.

Jynn’s eyes shifted over to the fish for a moment, it was a bountiful catch, before looking back at him and then at Bradford. Muffled grumbles — and lots of bubbles — slipped out as she sank back down into the water.

“Geist, how is this—“

“Shh!” Geist quickly hushed Bradford, raising a finger.

A second later, four clawed hands sprang from the water and grabbed the edge of the platform. Water sloshed around as Jynn slowly emerged. Her upper arms crossed over and somewhat covered her bare chest, and her lower arms rested on the ground. She had partially pulled herself out of the water. Her expression had barely changed; squinted eyes and a firm frown. Gill-like slits on her red throat opened and closed rapidly. There was an odd, barely visible blue shimmer encapsulating part of her head, like a bubble.

She shook her head quickly, shaking free a mass of water from her skin and hair. Geist put up a quick shield to keep himself and Bradford from getting wet. A throaty grumble left her lips, making those slits tremble, as she leaned forward, eyes focusing on Geist and occasionally shifting over to Bradford. 

Bradford felt his heart slowly working its way to his throat as she emerged from the water. So tall now. Just her upper half was out and was towering over him. He swallowed hard, not exactly liking her(and probably Asaru’s too) sour demeanor, and glanced at Geist.

Geist said a few more things as he brought forth his psionic energies and did something towards Jynn that seemed like she and Asaru didn’t like, with the strange, warbled hiss that came out and a small energy bolt aimed at Geist’s feet. But nothing further happened besides a few tentacles being raised towards Geist and hovering over his body.

“Everything is still holding. Good.” Geist smiled. “Also, you have a visitor.” He gestured towards Bradford before stepping back. As he reached Bradford, he gestured for him to step forward.

“Commander Reeves. Asaru.” Bradford nodded towards them. He clutched his hands tightly before taking careful steps towards the two. He nearly stopped when their eyes snapped to him too swiftly for his liking. And those tentacles shifting over to him didn’t help. He could already feel those tugs on his body and mind.

 He took in a deep breath and pressed forward. “How are you two doing?” It was weird, literally looking up at her now. She was two heads taller than the Chosen.

There was no answer. Those eyes just stayed focused on him. An odd, throaty mumble came forth as those gills continued to open and close, though more slowly. The tentacles came closer, hovering all around him, especially his head.

“Hm.” He bit his lip. He expected as much from what Geist had told him. But there was no time for awkward silence. “Things have been going well on the Avenger since we found you two. Just a few annoyances, but the Senior Staff are handling them.” 

So he spoke, chuckling as he did so, catching her up on details on what was happening on the Avenger and then the Resistance as a whole. So far, nothing terrible, minus some crew members, they were probably going to have to discharge them with how poorly they were handling what had happened to the Commander.

 “And we are still waiting for a message from Maker before we can take you two to him.” That benevolent Elder was still a strange one to him, but had become such a helpful boon to the Resistance. “From a few disjointed messages we received, it looks like he and the other Elders are fighting, as usual. Really, seems like a civil war is happening as there’s a massive schism due to what happened, and seems some are seeing how correct Maker was and are going over to his side.”

He continued, carefully observing her reaction and those tentacles that were pretty much moving around his face and body. Her expression hadn’t changed, but he could feel those tentacles probing and pulling. He never liked with when Asaru did that, but it was just how he took in his surroundings.

Rambling on, he didn’t hear the sound of water shifting about or her raising herself up more, and moving closer to him. Until suddenly, he felt something wet touch his chest and warm breath tickling his face. He paused and looked down. Her clawed, webbed hand was touching the center of his chest.

“Uh…” He looked back up at her, almost shrinking back, realizing her face was so close to his. He glanced over to Geist, who gave him a so-so gesture. He looked just as confused at him.

“Uh… Commander?” Bradford said. No response. “Jynn? Asaru?” Still no response. Just intense stares.

The next moment, his eyes lit up, and he grimaced. Those claws tightened, piercing through his shirt, digging into his skin.

“Jynn!?” A yell barely left his lips as he felt her pull him forward. All those arms, and many tentacles, wrapped around him tightly. For some reason, his brain just told him to take a deep breath, and how glad he was to do so, the next thing he felt was his whole body shudder as that cold water hit like a solid wall, nearly knocking the breath out of him, before it all quickly enveloped him. The bright light above grew more distant as the seconds ticked by. Shouts from Geist and the others quickly became muffled.

As he struggled to break free, he caught a blurred view of someone about to dive in after them until they quickly recoiled, grasping at their heads. Then his eyes flashed as he felt a strong psionic wave pierce them.

Stay back. The intertwined voices of Jynn and Asaru rang in his head. Such a strange echo in it. There was a lingering burning anger that permeated the psionic wave. Stay back. I(We) want privacy.

So they did want to talk, but not with others around. Bradford’s struggles slowly stopped. He was along for the ride and wondered exactly where they were taking him.

Wrangling some space for his head, he looked at her face. Still as grumpy as before, but seemed more pained, almost as if she was on the verge of crying.

Jynn… Asaru… He mentally sighed. He could faintly feel that deep turmoil radiating from their powers. Just a relentless ocean of pain they were in, mentally and physically. 

Then a thought crossed his mind.

Hey, you guys know I can’t brea— As he was thinking that, he paused as the sensation of fresh air entered his lungs and fish. Then he noticed a faint blue sparkle around his head. A psionic bubble. 

We know. The two replied, glancing at him for a second. Patience. Nearly there.

It felt like ages as they went deeper and deeper. Just how far down did this pool go?

 Light slowly slipped into darkness. The only thing keeping it from being nearly pitch black was that soft bioluminescent glow from Jynn. They rounded the corner and into a hidden alcove that had a faint glow. 

Entering, the source of the glow was evident. Blue psionic string-like webbing was strung from wall to wall, with a massive, thick wall in the middle, sealing it off. Jynn and Asaru had spun a psionic cocoon of sorts to make a little hidden home. With little work, they opened it, slipped inside, and it closed behind them. They soon surfaced.

That psionic bubble around Bradford’s head popped. He took in several breaths as he looked around. A little fishy but breathable. Almost entranced by the soft glow coming from the cocoon and the reflections of the water ripples on the rocky walls.

“Huh…” He mumbled. He wondered if this was where they went to sleep to get away from all the eyes. He noticed there were some blankets and other things sitting on some exposed ground towards the back. Feeling those arms tighten around him once again, and then something heavy came down on his head, made him freeze. A nestling motion was happening. And it felt a bit leathery against his skin.

“Uh…” He was hesitant to move, even more so as those arms squeezed him even more. And then he heard it. A strange purring growl mixed with sniffling. Jynn’s breathing was sharp. Those throat slits opened and closed rapidly, now making a slight whistle.

“Jynn…? Asaru…?” He cautiously said. He just felt those arms squeeze him more, pulling him closer to her chest. His face was growing a rosy shade with how his face was pressing against her breasts. Feeling her heart, if not hearts now, thumping rapidly made him snap to. Crap, crap, they’re crying.

It took some work, but he managed to wrangle his arms free and soon wrapped them around her. “Hey, hey… It’s okay. It’s okay.” He hushed the two as he tightened his hug. “I’m not mad. You two are safe.” The sniffling and strange purred growled continued, but those hearts slowed down to a steadier beat.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Bradford continued to reassure them he wasn’t upset, and they were safe, whilst stroking her back. It still surprised him how smooth her skin was, even with the scales; he took care to be gentle with the slightly scaled fin flaps on her back. The sniffles finally died down, being mostly replaced by the growled purring. That too stopped a few minutes later. Jynn finally let go.

Her cheeks were a deep reddish-purple as she pulled away. She avoided all eye contact with him as she slowly sank into the waters, but gently she nudged Bradford over towards the back of the cave.

Bradford tried speaking, but she just pushed him along faster. He complied, getting the message. Once at the back, he pulled himself up and out of the water.

“… Didn’t think I’d be going for a swim today.” He mostly joked to himself as he got himself situated on the rocky ground.

First things that came off were his waterlogged boots and soaked socks. Next thing to come off was his shirt, and he did his best to wring out the water, but soon stopped. He got in here one way and was pretty sure he would be leaving the same way. He just tossed it over to where he put his boots. Taking a quick check at his chest, he was happy to see that those sharp claws only left indents that were barely red and didn’t pierce his skin.

Hearing muffled sniffles, he looked back over at Jynn. He felt his heart sink into his stomach just seeing how only the top half of her face was above the surface, and she was still avoiding all eye contact.

“One of you… Or both of you brought me down here for a reason.” He said. “Who wants to talk? What do you want to talk about?”

She closed her eyes tightly, nearly slipping completely down into the water before she raised herself back up, just enough for her mouth to clear the surface. “Me.” Jynn’s voice was more prominent. “Me… me… me…” Despondently, she spoke. Her voice trailed with a slight echo and was rough. Slowly, she sank back down into the water and looked away.

“Jynn…” Bradford’s voice trailed off. He didn’t like that. 

Pushing himself off, he fell back into the water with a small splash and swam over to her. “Jynn, no.”

 He let out a sad sigh, seeing she was sinking further into the water and seemed to be drifting away from him as he came closer. He sped up. It took a bit of chasing, but he managed to corral her back over to the ledge and corner her. 

“Jynn, please…” He reached out with his hands and gently touched her face, cupping it. She shuddered and pulled back, but he kept a firm grip. “Just talk to me. You want to talk to me, right?”

She tried pulling away again, tried sinking deeper into the waters and swatting at him with her tentacles, but that barely caused his grip to falter. Her eyes barely met his for a moment. Worry. Concern. She closed her eyes tightly and looked away.

Bradford pulled himself closer, ignoring the swats. “Jynn… Talk to me. Whatever it is, just talk to me.” Shifting a hand towards those eyes, he wiped away tears that were just starting to form. “Just talk to me, please.”

She shook her head again. This time, with less force, barely pulling away. The tentacle swatting slowed until they finally fell back into the waters, drifting aimlessly. Her head barely rose, nose passing the threshold of the water. Snorted and bubbles sniffles followed. And so did tears.

“Jynn.” Bradford could just feel his heart sinking more and more.

A few minutes passed before she raised her head fully out of the water.

“W-w-where… where do I even begin?” She struggled to spit out choked words. “How… just… how? Just… why? More fish, and God knows what, than human now… no offense, Asaru.”

None taken. He said, projecting his voice psionically. It was faint.

She broke down into a blubbering, sobbing mess. Nearly dragging Bradford down when a few tentacles wrapped around him as she sank into the water. It took a lot of calming, coaxing, and frantic shaking to get Jynn to come back up and get those tentacles off of him.

He continued to console her as he gently nudged her closer to that ledge so he could get out of the water. He could only tread water for so long, and drowning was not on his radar. Once he was back on dry land, he managed to coax her to come out of the water some more and rest her head in his lap.

“Let it out, now.” Bradford gently stroked her head. “The both of you.”

He could barely imagine how Jynn felt, how both of them felt. Bodies and minds twisted and changed so drastically. As he stroked her face, thumbs tracing those odd, chitinous growths lining her cheekbones, he couldn’t help but notice her face was an odd blend of a Hybrid and one of the Chosen. Spaced apart eyes, some gauntness to the face, and recessed ears… just seeing this all made his heart ache.

“That’s where the associations to that begin and end. Everything else about you is different.” He whispered to himself. Shifting a hand towards her head, having to pass through that faint blue bubble that covered the upper half, he carefully stroked her head. Around the forehead, part of it jutted out slightly in the middle, then swept back into a three-tailed fin. “Some traits of Asaru, and then who knows what else…”

Eight eyes stood out to him the most. He was expecting four, hers and Asaru’s, but then again, he wasn’t sure if that alien even had “eyes” to begin with. Just a floating partial skull within a bubble, coursing with energy from what he could recall. He wondered what those files and DNA tests would reveal once everything was cracked. Hopefully, more positives than negatives.

With a little more calming, Jynn finally opened up. Everything felt so off. Her body. Her mind. Her connection to Asaru. Nothing felt right. Everything felt so wrong, but she just couldn’t explain it, as the words to articulate it would just escape her.

The pains from the torturous experiments and surgeries the Elders inflicted on them still plague their new shared body. Each slice, each cut, as their bodies were unbound and re-compiled, more or so messily blended to become something ‘better’. Minds relentlessly attacked and memories tweaked and sliced to tear away what was ‘useless’ and insert ‘more compliant’ thoughts and servitude. Some memories were still a blur.

“Everything just hurts… It just hurts.” She wrapped her arms around herself tightly, nails digging deep into her skin. Asaru’s voice poked through; he was in full agreement. “I… We… Want to kill them.” A nasty growl slipped out through all the sniffling. Her eyes flashed a bright blue as she bared her new, sharp teeth. A few tentacles shot up into the air, with their tips glowing brightly.

“Shh… I know. I know.” Bradford hushed her. “We’ll eventually get those bastards, but calm down. Your health.” He could just feel the anger radiating from both of them, which was a little more amplified as it pulled at his partially severed psionic bond with Jynn.

She grumbled and nuzzled her head deeper into his lap. Rubbing it back and forth to use his pants as a makeshift tissue to clean her face.

“They deserve to suffer so much like we have. Like the voices have.” She muttered. Asaru’s voice echoed just behind it. “Poor them… poor them…”

“They deserve more tha— wait, voices?” This was something Bradford hadn’t heard about. Nor did Geist ever make mention of it. “What voices?”

“Not the Elders’. Not Dhay-Vol’s. Barely hear them now after everything. Dhay-Vol’s keeping his distance, licking his wounds.” A dark chuckle escaped her lips. “Voices of the Elders victims throughout the galaxies. Those bodies in those Endless Waves. Just… clearer than ever. Searing thoughts… Endless battles…” She shook her head as she could see those desecrated and desiccated corpses of so many species in that Gap. 

“Oh.” That place.

“I… We… Hear them.  Can feel it all. All talking. All dying. It hurts… so much.” She broke down again, pressing her face into his lap.

It was another round of calming and consoling to get her to calm down. He managed to coax her out of the water some more to draw her into a proper hug. He just wasn’t expecting her to just fall over him, wrapping all four arms around him and nearly causing him to fall back. It took a little work to get her to shift most of her weight off of him so he could stay upright.

“We can’t lead… I can’t lead XCOM like this.” Jynn’s and Asaru’s voices shifted back and forth like a flickering switch. “Our minds… my mind barely feels put together. Everything’s so clouded and just… and just. UGH!”

Those tentacles angrily smacked the ground and water. There were a few loud sparks in the surrounding psionic energy. 

“We want to kill them! Take back what was robbed from us! Drink all the precious life from their most ‘prized’ Chosen, Dhay-Vol! Turn that wretched ‘prized son’ into a—!” Jynn’s and Asaru’s voices were fully intertwined now.

“Hey, hey! Calm down. Both of you.” Shifting his hands up to her face, he gently pulled her down. “Calm down, please.”

The anger in their eyes glowed brightly. They closed them tightly, biting their bottom lip so hard causing purple blood to come forth. A heavy sigh slipped out before those eyes opened again. The glow was gone. “Sorry… Sorry…” Jynn’s voice slowly became dominant again.

“Things will be… okay.” He squeezed her. There was some doubt in his voice, but he had hope for the future. “Even if, even if… this… can’t be fixed, the Elders don’t have the both of you.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Really, they got more than they bargained for and ended up losing more than they gained. You hurt their prized children.”

“Hm.” A throaty growl came from them. “Wish we tore them apart some more and drained all that life—“

“Hey.” Bradford brought her face down some more until their eyes met. “Stop that. Your health.”

Another growl slipped out before those eyes closed once more, and a heavy sigh came out. “Sorry.”

“Stay calm. Don’t need all that work Geist and his followers did coming undone.” He gently stroked her cheek. He slightly bristled, feeling some bite of their negative emotions in that bond and what angry thoughts lingered in the air.

A few more grumbles came out. Slowly, that negative psionic energy dispersed.

“Better.” Bradford smiled. “Get your mind off the negative right now. The both of you. Especially…” He paused. A second later, he leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on her head. “From my sad, saaaad fish.” He said in a singsong manner.

“Sad fish?” Jynn questioned, almost snorting at the horrible joke. Then it clicked. Her face was flushed with purple. “You… you still…?”

“Always.” He smiled, kissing her once more. “Even when I saw you that night. I’m not giving up on you. We’ll work through this.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she wrapped herself around him; this time, she knocked him over and to the floor. Bradford had to tell her to loosen her grip a few times, as it was rather crushing. Felt like a few ribs were going to crack.

John? John!? Can you hear me? Geist’s voice pierced Bradford’s mind. Blast, I hope you can hear me. Jynn and Asaru sent out a nasty psionic wave and crippled us, and left some traps in the water.

Bradford’s eyes lit up. Explained why there was no contact. I hear you. I’m fine. Water lodged, but fine. They, more or so, Jynn, wanted a private talk. He replied.

Thank the void. Geist was relieved when he got a reply back. Is everything okay? My senses are fuzzy, but I believe I’ve been faintly feeling the emotions of those two.

Things are… okay. Slowly getting better. They both needed to vent. Still probably need to do so. He was blindly searching for that wet shirt of his so Jynn could wipe her snot and tear-ridden face. “I think I’ll be here for the rest of the day. Think you can get someone from the Avenger to bring over a fresh set of clothes. And LOTS of towels.

Geist laughed. I’ll see what I can do. Continue to keep the two calm.

Will do. And take your time. Still need to calm them down.

I think I can do that.

—————————

With the quick conversation over, Bradford turned his attention back to Jynn and Asaru. It took some time to get Jynn calm again, but once he did, he helped her get comfortable, helping her over to a questionable amount of blankets and pillows piled in a corner, as she tired herself out. Once she was comfortable, they began to talk.

The conversation shifted back over to what Bradford had said. More or less, he had the same feelings despite all the changes, which Jynn was having a hard time believing. She listed off all the obvious changes, counting everything on three hands before a kiss on the lips from Bradford silenced her.

“We’ll… figure this out.” He said as he pulled away. 

His eyes slowly looked her up and down. Deep in his heart, he couldn’t deny there was a faint fear that something in his mind would shift and he would reject the new her. He didn’t like to acknowledge that with how far they had come.

He moved closer to her before placing a hand softly on the center of her chest. There was some faint hesitation. He felt her heartbeat quicken slightly before she used a few tentacles to move the hand away.

“It’ll… take some time. But…” He let his eyes drift away for some seconds before looking at her. “I believe in us. You’re still beautiful to me.”

Jynn’s face flushed purple before she whipped her head away. Her gills shuddered. She chewed on the inside of her cheek for some time as her face grew a brighter shade of purple.

Bradford held in a snicker as he could faintly pick up that Asaru was saying something encouraging to her.

“Thank you… For believing… even if I’m unsure.” Jynn said meekly. She reached up and stroked his cheek. He smiled.

He found one of her free hands, took it, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Think positively.”

She snorted. “Funny, coming from you.”

He rolled his eyes, but a chuckle came out. “I’ve… gotten better with your help and Dr. Veer.”

A little laugh came from her before it trailed off into a more despondent one. Looking away from him, she gestured with one of her free arms at her body and then her face.

“You really still find this ‘beautiful’.” She couldn’t help but question that.

He is being 100% truthful. Your bond with him is damaged, but you can still sense that. Asaru’s voice was barely audible. He sounded a bit peeved that she was questioning that. She rolled her eyes.

Closing his eyes, he let out a sharp snort. Should have expected this. “Yes.” He didn’t mean to sound blunt, but it came out like that. 

Really, I wish I had that ring on me. Not like it would fit on her hand now. He was thinking of a way to try and convince her he was being truthful.

“Though we weren’t quite at that stage in our relationship yet…” He let his voice trail off as he let his eyes wander across her body. How so much of it was different, and yet oddly the same. 

Noticing how he was looking, Jynn’s chest started to flush red before plumes of purple took over. Shifting her arms, she tried her best to cover herself; a pair of arms tried to cover her double set of breasts, and another tugged at a blanket to cover her lower half. It was mainly done out of personal dislike of her altered being.

He wrinkled his nose for just a moment before shaking his head. He drew himself close to her face and whispered in a low, husky tone. “I would still propose to you now. Right now.”

She froze, hearing that. Her tail flicked around as she studied his face. It was serious as ever. “S-seriously?”

Told you. Asaru tutted. The barely audible interjection made Bradford stifle a chuckle. Jynn glared, but mostly at Asaru.

“I have a ring waiting back on the ship, already to go.” He continued in that low tone. Raising a hand to her face, he gently stroked under her chin. “Though… have to get it resized or strung on a necklace. Whatever you would like.”

A brief hm came from her, making her throat tremble. Her own tumultuous thoughts clouding her mind, she brought a tentacle to his head. The bulbous tip gently pressed against the center of his head before it began to softly glow. The man winced as their damaged bond was probed. Strands struggled to reconnect, but enough came together for her to find just what she was looking for.

“Oh… oh…” She quietly muttered as she felt his true feelings and worries. “You’re not joking.”

“No.” He nodded. “I wouldn’t joke about this. Especially with how you’re feeling.” Leaning in more, he kissed her on the lips. “I love you, Jynn. Now, forever, and always.”

Her throat trembled as she made some uncomfortable clicks and caused her gills to shut. She looked away from her before one of her arms wrapped around him and pulled him down and closer. It didn’t take long for her to wrap her other arms around him and for her to press her head against his.

“I’m… sorry…” Her voice cracked.

Bradford wrestled his arms free so he could touch her face. “Don’t apologize. You don’t need to.”

“But I—”

“That’s an order.” As serious as his voice was, there was a faint tease to it. He was repeating something she would tell him when he would get himself worked up about some minor detail of their private courtship.

“Okay.” Just a faint snort slipped out, and a meek reply.

It took some time before she released him from the hug, but he stayed close.

In between Jynn wanting to re-tread old discussions on what happened when XCOM found her and Asaru again, as she felt like she could never stop apologizing for nearly killing them with a vicious psionic life force drain, she hesitantly showed him her body. Though he had seen her altered naked form numerous times by now, but not in a more intimate fashion. And then she didn’t exactly like being touched by anyone or anything, with how sensitive every fiber of her being was.

Bradford had to tell her to stop apologizing for what happened during that rescue mission. No one was holding that against them due to their frenzied state and the pure chaos of the situation, as the Elders were constantly teleporting in units to try and capture them. Unless she wanted him to comment, he just let her make small comments here and there as she pointed out what was new. What he wasn’t expecting was for her to grab his hand and gently guide it around her body. He nearly resisted, but her claws tightening around his wrist for a split second made him relent. 

She’s doing this for a reason. Calm down. He thought to himself. He could faintly sense the tension of self-loathing and embarrassment from Jynn. A minuscule fraction of disbelief remained that he would never truly love this new her that would most likely be permanent. It just made him sigh. Despite not wanting to think about it, some part of that could become true once things got “better.”

Eventually, Asaru was dragged into their conversation when they started talking about their relationship again. Asaru was almost hesitant to voice his thoughts, sensing the ebbing and flowing of muddled thoughts from both of them, but he spoke of how he would be intruding more on the two’s private conversations due to the changed state of his and Jynn’s bond. He couldn’t exactly “fade into the background to ignore and be ignored” like he could before.

Bradford said that had crossed his mind, but he felt like they would be able to figure things out when both of them were in a more stable condition. Perhaps by then, Asaru could “fade away” again and not be more of an awkward third wheel than he already was. Throwing the alien a bone, he pointed out that Asaru had been doing pretty good with giving the two private time and rarely intruding unless something was urgent. 

It was just the right amount of reassurance, the strange alien(and Jynn) needed.

As their conversation dwindled to a natural lull, Jynn pulled Bradford down into a hug again. Despite all her nerves screaming at her, she really wanted to snuggle. Something she missed doing. 

Bradford happily obliged, sensing that he was helping her, and by extension, Asaru, stay calm. He just reminded her it couldn’t become a hard nap, as sooner or later, Geist would fetch him as he had to return to his duties on the Avenger. She grumbled at that and just tightened her grip on him.

—————————

 About two hours passed before Geist contacted him again. A fresh change of clothes and lots of towels were waiting for him, and some important information he needed to view. He asked if Bradford needed assistance coming back to the surface as he had finally locked onto his position, but the man quickly refused it. Bradford did not want to disturb Jynn and Asaru’s better mood.

Waking Jynn from the nap she had dozed off into, it took a fair amount of coaxing to get her to take him back to the surface, as she still wanted some private time with him since it had been some time since they had seen each other in person last. And then, she and Asaru had a faint feeling Geist would want to run some quick probing checks to make sure this little stunt didn’t undo anything. But, after a little more coaxing and a promise to come back around as soon as possible, she took him back to the surface. 

The two apologized quite a bit to him as they helped him out of the water, but Bradford wasn’t upset.

Jynn and Asaru would have gone back down to avoid the Templars, especially Geist, but that sweet, alluring smell of fish caught their collective attention. There was a growing knot in their stomachs, and a nasty gurgled growl soon followed. It had been some time since they had eaten.

Bradford grabbed his fresh clothes before he was escorted to another room to change. Coming back, he noticed one of the Bridge crew was there with a laptop.

“What’s going on?”

They handed the laptop over to him and quickly updated him on everything going on regarding ADVENT activities and the Resistance. The Elders’ retaliation attempts were still coming in relentless waves, but in turn, the executions were growing increasingly sloppy. None of the Chosen were there to lead the major assaults. ADVENT unit actions were de-synced, leading to many occurrences of the attacks being turned on their heads and some units outright defecting with a little nudging for psionic capable combatants. It was a mess. Whatever Jynn and Asaru did those days before they had found them had severely affected the Psionic Network.

So, it was a mix of good and bad news. Bradford gave instructions for some squads to be assembled and sent out, and for them to hit up the local Skirmisher clans for some assistance. They needed to provide support where they could and move civilians to safety. Geist butted in and offered the services of his people so they could teleport to each location. Much faster than having to travel via foot or by vehicle. Bradford accepted.

Bradford sent the crew member away, but kept the laptop. He glanced over to where Jynn was and held back a snort. She was really tearing into those fish like there was no tomorrow. Shredding them into bits, throwing scales and bones everywhere.

With laptop in hand, he headed over to her.

“Hey, Commander,” he softly called out to her, “want some updates on how the Resistance is going?”

Pausing halfway through biting into a fish, she looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

Once he reached her, he sat down and turned the laptop towards her. “Feel like it would be best to keep you, both of you, in the loop.”

She glanced down. Teeth slowly pulled away a chunk of flesh to munch on. “Maybe...” She spoke with a faint voice. But she moved closer to him, soon peering over his shoulder.

He updated her on how things had been and what was currently going on and would occasionally nudge her(or Asaru) into giving input on where XCOM’s focus should be. She was slow to respond, but with enough prodding, that old leader in her came forth and gave some orders. 

Bradford stayed for a few more hours until Jynn said she and Asaru were tired. He said he understood and would come back in the morning unless something happened. She gave him a tight hug and a peck on the head before diving back down and heading for that little cave.

Geist was fine with him coming back and even encouraged it. He had a strong feeling the two would react to the psionic treatment better if they continued to see friendly faces. That was some comforting news for Bradford. Though he told Geist they would have to hash out all the details, as he wasn’t sure how long they would be in the region. Never a time for rest for XCOM.

Who knew what the future held, but that glimmer of hope burned bright within his heart.

[etherealvoidechoes]

Cooking and Bonding

Still feeling bleh and now I have a cold! So enjoy some writing.

Exploring some ideas for the future of “Hollowed Defiance”

No warnings needed I believe.

Approx. 5k

--------

It had been a few weeks since Asaru had been found. What a tumultuous day that was. It had been a few since he and Commander Reeves had re-bonded with the assistance of Geist. What a momentous event for XCOM, even more so for the Commander. How long they had been searching for her “other half” and managed to get to him — and current companions — before the Elders could.

And the event was all so tiring for the two of them. Having been separated for so long, and then the cause of their separation being rather violent, the entire process had left the two rather exhausted; the following recovery period wasn’t going as smoothly as they would have liked as Geist was rather insistent on training the two to make sure their bond would be stable and they would be in-sync. It was mind-numbingly annoying, but needed. Jynn and Asaru had picked up that their minds were fighting each other more than melding together, which led to more headaches. How Jynn wanted to strangle the Elders for the genetic editing They had done to her that had to be source of that new issue. And then Ea’Njall-Vai’miti was another problem. There was always something.

But Jynn and Asaru were slowly figuring out a solution to that problem. In a way, they had to get to “know” each other again through quick mind melding sessions, carefully monitored by a different Templar each session. How glad they were they were still stationed at the Templar’s main base of operations, so Navla wasn’t the one always doing to the work — with all the training she constantly did with the Commander, she needed a break.

Through those little mind melding sessions, they learned it could extend to other tasks that a faint hint of “muscle memory” for Asaru. Dismantling, cleaning, and reassembling guns. Figuring out a few alien puzzle-box like caches. Reading books. Listening to music. And the list slowly grew over time. And then there was cooking.

Oh, cooking hit some sort of strange sweet spot for the two. Possibly a mixture of the process of making a meal and then how good it would taste after all the hard work. And right now, Jynn wanted to cook. It was a great stress reliever for her and reminded her of some good home cooking she would never have again, but the memories would live on.

So she and him got to thinking. A little celebration for the boon XCOM had acquired was in order. And she had to give thanks to Geist and his Templars for their help and then the people Asaru had been hiding with throughout the years. If he never found more trustworthy people with hearts of gold and wills made out of iron, the Elders would have caught him long ago.

So after some planning and a lot of resource hunting and trading to acquire all the needed food, and a few other things, they got to cooking. The two quickly took over the kitchen in the Avenger. At first, Jynn let a few of the other cooks stay in the kitchen to assist her with making the meal, but eventually, one by one, she kicked them all out. She just wanted it to be her and Asaru.

It was a sight to behold. Just the two of them, separated, chatting as they flowed back and forth through the kitchen. It was a mess of pots and pans chattering and bubbling, several knives floating about via psionics and chopping up meats, vegetables, spoons stirring pots, and then the two making various kinds of dough and much more. Those blue psionics were freely flowing, wisps swirling through the air, wrapping around just about every single pot, pan, and cooking utensil.

There were some people watching the two people cooking show. Mainly attracted by the heavenly smells that were slowly traveling through the ship, and then the sight was a bonus.

And Bradford was one of them. 

He was leaning on the frame of the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed as he watched the order chaos go on. He still wasn’t sure what to make of the two’s bond. Yes, he was happy for Jynn, as this seemed to be one of the last pieces to correct her ailing health, but he still couldn’t help but have his doubts… his fears. This Asaru, an Ethereal jellyfish looking creature (he wouldn’t call him that to his face)… his form reminded him too much of how the Elders looked and then the two species could have been closely related. He quietly questioned how benevolent Asaru truly was and wasn’t just some parasite. He kept that last bit to himself, but had a feeling Jynn knew how he felt.

And then he and Jynn hadn’t been able to have their alone time since this whole re-bond happened. He was mildly miffed, as he was missing their heartfelt mind melding chats and cuddles, but understood why that had to be put on hold for the time being. Maybe he was a bit jealous? Not like he would want to admit that…

Though he had his suspicions towards Asaru, he couldn’t help but smile as he watched the two cooks and ramble on. It had been awhile since he heard her full-blown southern Cajun accent come out and then it, being off and on mixed with Japanese, was something else. Reminded him of listening to her and her brother chat and have their sibling spats. It was cute. Really, he just loved to hear it.

That smile slipped away for a moment, a sigh slipped out. He hoped Charles was still alive. He didn’t want Jynn to live with the pain of losing her entire family, like he had. It took forever for him to come to terms with that.

“You gonna mope and be jealous, or are you going to go in there and talk?” That all too familiar deep voice of Corvo tickled his ear. Bradford closed his eyes tightly. His fists matching his eyes. He wanted to punch him, but stayed his hands.

“Manuke! Lay off him, Corvo.” Takamura said, followed by a loud smack to Corvo’s back. One of the few senior staff that knew Jynn and Bradford were testing the waters with dating.

Opening his eyes, he glanced over his shoulder. They narrowed in response to seeing that devilish grin on his friend’s face, despite Takamura smacking his back. He gave a slight eye-roll and a quick nod to Takamura. He appreciated his defense. “I’m fine where I am.”

“Sure about that, lover boy?”

“Corvo…” A low growl slipped out. To think he thought the teasing would have stopped when he and Jynn had started dating. In truth, it only got worse. At least Corvo had the decency to keep the whole thing private, per the two’s requests. He had to hold back a snort when he heard Takamura let off a stream of expletives in Japanese. He understood some, as Takamura (and Jynn) was still teaching him. Just a lot of curses about Corvo not knowing when to let things be left alone and then jabs at Corvo’s shiny bald head.

Corvo straightened himself back up, crossing his arms. “You got to talk to her and him. Gotta stop beating around the bush, unless,” he paused that grin, growing wider, “you don’t want things to work out.”

“Corvo… if you don—“

“Ah! Shay!” Corvo let out a loud yelp. Several people laughed seeing the tall, bulky man freeze up as his wife had a firm grip on his ear. “That’s my sensitive ear! Sensitive!”

“Come on, honey!” She yanked on his ear several times, ignoring his pleas, pulling him away. “We have training we need to do with the locals before dinner!”

“Thanks, Shay.” Bradford smiled, quite happy he didn’t need to punch him. He could always count on her to keep him in check… unless she felt like joining in on the teasing. Thankfully, that was rare.

He then turned his attention back to Jynn and Asaru. The two didn’t even notice the minor commotion that happened. She was busy stirring the roux, telling Asaru what color they were looking for — somewhere around cinnamon — before adding the vegetables, and he was attentively looking over her shoulder and nodding along, whilst stirring the other pots with their shared psionics.

“And then for the tempura… can you handle the Chryssalid? I remember you being allergic to shellfish. Or was it just made you sick? Or was it religious reasons?” Asaru asked, tapping his fingers together, trying to remember some details of her past.

Jynn shook her head. “Wasn’t allergic, shellfish and some other stuff nev’ really agreed with my system. And kinda religious, somethang my dad adopted from one of his brothers.” She shuttered. “Though the Elders oh so ‘lovingly’ fixed that, I think my brain still reflexively treats it like the plague.”

“Interesting.” He cocked his head to the side. “How ‘kind’ of them. Kind of Maker from what I can tell from you disjointed memories when you were under his care.”

“Tch, right?” She let out a dry laugh. “Though Maker is… interesting. Why my immune system wasn’t totally shot, though I question how genuine he is until we meet ‘officially’.” She mumbled. They had sparse contact with this “good” Elder through one of his many contacts. So far, it seemed like he was on the Resistance’s side. “Anyway, gonna have Childs and Takamura handle anything with them Chryssalids for the tempura once we nearly don with everythang else. Though you can work on them bugs if ya wish ta.”

“I think I may double check the meat. Make sure there’s no hidden surprises.” He glanced over to a pile of the pinkish meat and cracked blue carapaces. “I remember the last time you were poisoned by their venom.”

“Don’ remind me of that!” She shook her head. “Don nearly wrangled Beckart’s neck. Bakayarou…” 

That made Asaru laugh, remembering the details of those days all too well.

Bradford held back a snort as he listened to the two. He definitely would never forget those days at the Old Base. Especially the day when Jynn was half coherent and yelling at Beckert. Just yelling his ear off, cursing it off really, in like three different languages. Those treatments and meds the doctors gave her made her quite high and took her a long time to come down from it. She nearly bit him when he had to pull her away from Beckert. She was ready to kill him with her bare hands.

He shook his head before taking in a deep breath and sharply exhaling. 

“Try not to get cut by the knives.” Takamura joked, noticing the change in his demeanor. “They may chase you out with them.” He even made a few shooing movements, wiggling his fingers.

“Ha, ha, ha.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ll try.” 

Shaking this head again, Bradford steadied his thoughts. “Need to start somewhere…” He mumbled before taking a step inside. Not before knocking on the nearby metal counter a few times. A few of Asaru’s tentacles perked up. “Is it alright if I come int?”

“As long as you don’ get in the way, you can come right on in, cher.” Jynn responded, barely looking over at him. 

But Asaru looked at him, even waved a hand and a few of those tentacles. “Greetings, John.”

“Actually,” she snapped her fingers a few times, “could use a hand to roll out some pie crust. Remember how to do that, cowboy?”

“Oh, you’re letting him come in, but kicked me and the others out?” Childs poked his head through the kitchen window; that red bandana on his head flapped about. Though he sounded upset, the huge smile on his face said otherwise. “I bet I can roll out a mean crust compared to Johnny.”

“Childs, hush up.” Jynn only shook her head.

“What? It be the truth, o’ Commander.” All the “anger” in his voice slipped away as he started laughing. “More of a homegrown southern boy than him!”

“Keep talking and a pan will be coming your way, Childs.” Takamura pinched his nose, shaking his head.

“Like to see her try to nail me.”

“You’re asking for trouble, bruv.” Memento chimed in. She just happened to be passing by to drop of some vegetables the a Commander had requested.

“Hush up, boy.” Jynn waved a spoon at him. And then a few pans floating about rattled. 

“Childs…” Bradford just rolled his eyes. He was not going to save him.

“Hi.” Bradford nodded towards Asaru, carefully eying those tentacles as he came closer. A few times, he had to dodge a few floating utensils and bowls full of food flying around. “I remember how to roll out the crust. Helped ma and her sisters a few times with cooking… well…” he paused and grumbled under his breath. “More like forcefully roped into helping.” He shook his head. “So, how’s the cooking going?”

“Splendid!” Jynn hummed. She tapped the wooden spoon she was using to stir the roux against the rim of the pot a few times before setting it down. Her attention then shifted to stirring a pan full of chicken frying and then another with some duck. “Crust is in the fridge. Same with the marble rolling pin. You can roll it out there.” She then pointed to some open space.

“Quite well. A bit chaotic, but well.” Asaru added. There was upbeat cheeriness in his voice.

“I see. And will get it.” He nodded before heading to the fridge. “So,” Bradford glanced around, trying to make some sense of the chaos as he grabbed the items from the fridge, “making your classic gumbo and…?” 

“A few more southern homegrown meals.” Jynn looked at him with a big smile. There was a twinkle in her eye. “Know you miss that taste.”

He chuckled, nodding. “I do.” Opening the fridge, greeting his eyes were several pale brown soccer ball sized crusts wrapped in plastic. “Uh,” he glanced over to her, “how much crust do you need?”

“Hm…” She tapped her lip. “Start with four. Need the base and top crusts and the bits I let cook with the peaches.”

“Alrighty.” He grabbed four of the crust balls and made his way over to the free space she had pointed out earlier. Setting those down, he took a step closer to her and leaned over. “And I do love when you cook. Looking forward to everything.” Just a quick whisper. It made her snicker.

”So got sum collards going, makin’ sum biscuits, frying sum okra, white rice…” She rattled off several other dishes. “And then there’s Warren and other folk grilln’ up more meats outside. And think some people are doing sum runs to get sum desserts to top this all off. Besides, I’m making sum peach cobbler.”

“And then we’re also making some Japanese dishes.” Asaru added. Soon he raised his lower arms and counted off his fingers. “Making both Soba and Udon for some bone broth bowls, have some fish to do tempura with besides the Chryssalid meat, and more rice.” He laughed at that.

“American Southern and Japanese cuisine together… interesting.” Bradford rubbed his chin as he listened to the two. They were making a lot, and he heard that Warren and the others had a lot of grilling going on outside, and were looking forward to some ribs. Looks like it was a going to be a feast.

“The gumbo may be the last thang to be finished.” Jynn said, as she was stirring the roux again. “Otherwise, all is going swimmingly.”

“Mhm.”

Before rolling out the crust, Bradford washed his hands — though he had to navigate the chaos of constantly moving items. He only got smacked twice in the face, and Asaru and Jynn quickly apologized. With clean hands, he went about rolling out the crust and throwing back some fun jabs at Childs would be giving some commentary on “how he was doing it wrong” and “how he could do so much better.” Takamura’s insults in Japanese just added to the fun. Even Jynn joined in and got Takamura choking on his own laughter with whatever she was slinging at Childs. Asaru made comments he hadn’t heard such vulgar things since she chewed out Beckart, uncooperative military officials, and some Council members.

“Really need to brush up on what I know. And continue those lessons with Jynn… and then Takamura and Cerci.” Bradford mumbled to himself as Takamura was wheezing from laughing so hard and partially translating what Jynn said to Childs who feigned being hurt by her words. He could pick out a word or two here and there and boy, was it bad, but he couldn’t follow along fully.

Time passed. Several meals had finished cooking and Jynn beckoned Childs and some other staff to start taking them out and to where everyone would be gathering for the feast. A way to shut him up for  awhile but he promised to be back and continue their “lovely bickering.” Jynn also “allowed’ Takamura and a few others to come back in and get started on the tempura.

Bradford had finished rolling out the crust and had been promoted to cooking the peaches. He was diligently stirring the pot, mixing in the spices and milk; one eye was watching the timer set. He made sure to not get in anyone’s way as food was being taken out. As most of the dishes left the room, there were fewer utensils and foods floating around.

“Hey, Taka!” Jynn called out to him. “Come on over here and try this.” Still working on the gumbo, she was dishing out some of that hearty dish into a small bowl with some rice.

“Oh, I’m a guinea pig, onee-sama?” The man joked as he fixed his salt and pepper hair slipping in front of his face, smearing some flour onto it. Jynn just rolled her eyes, lightly scolding him in a joking manner in Japanese. He just grinned, came over, and took the bowl.

“And John…” She was dishing out another small bowl. “Try this and me what it’s missing.” She handed off to him. “Cher.” She whispered.

“Yes, ma’am.” Setting down the spoon he was working with, he happily took the bowl; scooping out a hearty spoonful to give it a taste. It had been a few months since she had made the dish last, but it was delectable as ever. All the flavors were just right and the duck, ah it had been ages since he had some with fresh duck in it. Such a rich flavor.

“Everything tastes great!” He said in-between bites. “And is there okra in this?” He spotted a few chopped pieced of the familiar vegetable.

“Yes’em.” She nodded. “Been a long while since I’ve don that. So,” she looked at him, “don’ need to add anythang? Salt? Pepper? More broth?”

“No, no.” He shook his head quickly. “Everything good!” He gave a thumbs up.

“Taka?” She looked over to him.

He was in the middle of eating another spoonful, but managed to give a thumbs up. “It is good. All flavors all well balanced, but I could swear I saw you add fish into this.”

Jynn tapped three different pots that were boiling away. “It’s in this one, didn’ wanna add fish to all of ‘em. Give a little varie-tay”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Smart. Now,” he walked over and lowered his bowl near the one of the pots she tapped. “Can I try the ones with fish now?”

Jynn chuckled. She happily obliged. 

As more food finished cooking and was being moved out once again, the kitchen was nearly empty once more — same as the mess hall. Cobblers in the oven, Bradford was cleaning the dishes.

Humming to himself, his mind was dwelling on current events and somewhat listening to Jynn and Asaru chat as they finished up the last set of dishes. His mind pondered on what to talk about. Well, he knew what he wanted to talk about, but just wasn’t sure how to spit it out. He didn’t want to offend the two, especially Jynn.

“Something on your mind?” Asaru asked.

“Hm?” Bradford looked up, only to nearly jump out of his skin and drop a sponge. It was Asaru. In front of his face. Far too close for comfort and then this bulbous tentacles were all around him. “A little close there, buddy…”

“Sorry.” He shifted back slightly, retracting his tentacles, until there was a decent gap between the two. “Again, is something on your mind? I can sense some troubled thoughts.”

Bradford’s brow twitched when he heard that. Was this alien probing his mind without permission? He hated when their psions did that. “No, I’m fine.”

“Mhm.” He nodded, but there was just a hint of doubt in it. 

Slowly, the alien floated back over to Jynn and helped her check on the cobblers. Opening the oven let out a heavenly smell of peaches and mixed spices. The crusts were nearly golden, and the liquid was popping. 

Bradford shook his head again, body shuddering for a moment. “Really do not want those tentacles touching me… again.” He muttered under his breath. It had happened once, sometime after they found Asaru, and he didn’t like the weird energy spark that coursed through his body. Something about old bonds or some weird psionic nonsense. He doubted there was some old bond there, he was never bonded to the alien from what he could remember.

Just as he was drifting back to his thoughts, his eyes twitched, and pupils shrank. A few pricks to his mind until something sharp finally pierced it.

“She’s been wanting to talk about it.” It was Asaru. “About me. Our bond. I know you feel hesitant around me.”

Bradford’s brow twitched. His eyes fell onto Asaru. The alien wasn’t looking at him and was conversing with Jynn. “Really?” Reflexively he spoke out loud, some anger laced his words. How much he hated intrusive telepathy.  

“Shhh…” Another thought from the alien pierced his mind. At the same time, Asaru raised a hand to his face and made the accompanying gesture, and another hand tapped the side of his head. Looks like he wanted to keep their conversation entirely in the mind.

Bradford let out several grumbles as his eyes narrowed on the alien. A moment later, he rubbed his face. How glad he was that Jynn didn’t notice his mild outburst. “Talk.”

“Sorry.” He gave a quick apology. “As I was saying, she’s unsure how to brooch the subject since this changes everything. I’ve been trying to gently nudge her, but have had no success.”

“I feel as if that’s an understatement.”

“It… is.” He could agree with that. “I just don’t want to come in between you two. She truly cares for you, and I can sense the same within you. You’ve both been an anchor for each other through these tumultuous tides of war.”

“Hm.” Bradford closed his eyes as he thought for a moment. So, Jynn was in the same boat as him… trying to figure out how to talk about the whole thing.

A sigh slipped out. “Let me finish this.” He turned his attention back to the dishes. With fervent speed, he scrubbed them all down in record time. Once done, he made his way over to the two, cautiously eying those tendrils, as always. Jynn now humming along as she pulled out the cobblers one by one and set them on the counter and Asaru was reminiscing about some old crew members and some things Geist and the others psions had done back then.

A quick glance over his shoulder. The mess hall was practically empty. Looking back at her, hesitantly he raised a hand and lightly touched her shoulder.

“Hey, hun.” 

“Hm?” She glanced at him. “Yes?”

“So…” He gestured a thumb towards Asaru. “Wanna… finally talk about your ethereal friend? And… us?”

One of the pan filled cobblers slipped from her fingers and nearly hit the floor. Thankfully, with some quick thinking, Asaru caught it with some psionics and carefully placed it with the others.

“Uh, Jynn?” Bradford hesitantly touched her. “You alright?”

Jynn’s brow twitched for but a moment before she closed her eyes tight. Oven-mitt covered hands soon covered her face and rubbed it.

“Ohhejustdon’broughtituptoyoudidn’he?” Words quickly slurred together like a rushing river under her breath.

“Jynn, we don’t have to take about it right now.”

“No, it’s—“ She bit her tongue before shaking her head. Dropping one hand, the other started to rub her temple. “We do need to talk about it, just… I don’ even know where to start!”

“Hey, hey, breathe.” He tightened his grip on her when she felt her shudder. “We don’t have to talk now. It can be later.”

“Perhaps tonight would work?” Asaru butted in. “Once all the festivities are over?”

“You stay out of—“

“No, no, no.” She shook her head. “Tonight be good. Would be best to get to talkin’ about this soon.”

“You sure?” There was a hint of concern in his voice. “I don’t want to push this if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“Cher.” She laughed, a nervous one at that. “It’s gotta be don sometime soon.” Shuffling slightly, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Gotta be don sometime soon if this… date’n is gonna work out.”

His eyes widened for a moment before he closed them tightly. She had a point. So far, things had been going fine with a few rough spots, but this really changed things. “Right, right.” 

A hand went up and gently ruffled her short hair. Heh. That was growing back nicely. “So…” He paused, his voice trailing off, silently questioning if he should even say what was on his mind. “What is it like… being bonded to him?”“Really, it’s kinda hard to explain.”

She tried her best to do so with Asaru’s input here and there. In a way, they were giving him a sneak peek for the conversations they would have later. 

Though their lives were intertwined once more, she still felt the same. She felt like herself. Mostly. Now she was always aware of another presence within and around her, as Asaru no longer had to hide himself. His thoughts and emotions were always present, but their minds were truly separate unless they felt like they needed to “become one” in thought and actions. It was almost a deeper version of a mild meld she would occasionally do with Bradford, though this one also involved the body.

“And don’ let me get started on them memories.” She shook her head.

“Apologies, we still have a great amount to sift through.” Asaru said.

Memories. Most weren’t hers — and those were still a mess as they were slowly coming back. The memories were Asaru’s and his many previous hosts. Lots of information to dig through and digest. Some helpful and many unpleasant.

“I have a feeling tonight will be… interesting.” Bradford was slowly digesting what they had told him. The slightly offhanded comparison to their little mind meld sessions helped clear up some confusion in his mind. “Think we may need lots of snacks.” He grinned.

“And lots of ice.” A little sigh slipped out of Jynn’s lips. She felt like she was going to get a headache trying to explain more later. “And maybe some alcohol.” She mumbled under her breath.

“Uh-uh,” he shook his head, “no drinking per Geist’s and doctor’s orders. And I don’t need to be smelling the stuff.” He had been doing pretty well at avoiding tasting the drink after another mess up, not entirely of his own volition.

“Right…” She grumbled. “Want a buzz at least… if that is even still possible for me…”

“Eventually, hon. ~” He sung a little, rustling her hair some more. A little smile appeared on her face. 

“I do hope some concerns were cleared up.” Asaru said as he floated around the two. “Though I expect you have more questions.”

“Oh, I do.” 

“I hope we can answer them all sufficiently.” He sounded like he was looking forward to the talk. Those tentacles of his were twitching. “Now,” his head shifted over to the counter, those pipping hot cobblers were sitting on, “I think the others are waiting for this dessert to arrive.”

“Oh! Right!” Jynn knew how some were really looking forward to it. She squeezed Bradford once more before pulling away. And then she threw a pair of oven-mitts at him and told him to grab a few as she grabbed some and levitated a few. Bradford, barely fazed at taking a pair of mitts to the face, questioned why she wasn’t using her psionics to take them all out.

“Don’ need to raise too many eyes. Some crew are still uneasy with Asaru and whatnot.”

“Right.”

 Something he couldn’t believe he forgot. That was a new point of contention on an ever-growing, never ending list for many and knew it would continue to be a headache in the long run. At least a majority could keep their mouths shut as this information didn’t need to reach the Elders anytime soon.

With oven-mitts slipped on, Bradford grabbed a few cobblers and the two were off. Asaru merged back with Jynn as they left with the deserts in hand to join the festivities outside.

The feast and evening festivities went on well and everyone had a good time enjoying each other and the home-cooked meals.

Jynn, Asaru, and Bradford shifted their long awaited talk to another day as they were exhausted after everything was over. But they would eventually have the talk and it would ease their troubled thoughts.

[etherealvoidechoes]

Colored an old sketch.

Late night chatting about the past mixed with psionics leads to lots of tears and hugging. Possibly true feelings have finally been revealed.

[etherealvoidechoes]

Wish it all away... Until the two become one.

Something different. Been listening to Tool a bunch and part of the lyrics to Jambi (starting it where I’m pulling the lyrics) just struck something in me.

So here’s an experiment of writing around (some) of the lyrics of a song. Actually had some fun. May do this with some other songs I like.

Also toying with ideas as usual.

About 1.8k.

--------------

But I

And I would

If I could

And I would

The news had been rough for Bradford. Months ago, they had finally found Asaru, that missing link to the Commander. He and Jynn’s reunion, carefully monitored by Geist, had been going well. Looks as if that bond was the final key to give her body the last kick it needed to right the damage to her health… or so they thought. Another problem arose. Some of the damage to her DNA ran deeper than they had initially thought. She was dying again. Her body slowly degenerating. They could barely slow it down. It was just a ticking time bomb until that degeneration kicked into full gear and she fell apart.

 Though that strange Elder who was secretly helping them, Raal’Maker, foresaw this and was working on a plan. A risky one. One Bradford didn’t like for several reasons.

Ever since then, Bradford had a hard time letting Jynn go. He was cherishing every second with her. He just didn’t want to let her go in the morning, or night, when they needed to go to their stations. He’d just tightly wrap his arms around her; hold her tight to his chest. There were so many thoughts going through his mind. Racing through it at a breakneck speed. Thinking of how this “Chrysalis” procedure would work. The permanent changes it would bring to her genetic code. The possible permanent changes to her and her body. But it would fix everything. He hated to think about it. To talk about it. He ignored her voice during these moments. Ignored her trying to enter his mind and talk about it. Even Asaru couldn’t help her. He didn’t want to talk… he didn’t want to.

Wish it away

Wish it away

Wish it all away

He didn’t want to. It had just been weeks after the two had finally married, and now this. He was going to lose her again. Lose her because those damn Elders didn’t know when to let things be. If They had headed Maker’s warnings long ago… if They had never tried converting her to a Chosen and putting too much pressure on the Tactical side of the Psionic Network constantly… this wouldn’t be happening. 

Wanna wish it all away

No prize you could hold sway

Or justify my giving away my center

He much he wished he had found the remnants of XCOM earlier. How much he wished they could have found her so much sooner. He would give away everything if they just had that chance to save her from being a tool the Elders’ cherished but still treated with great disdain. They could simply clone her. Remake her. How wrong They were.

So if I could I'd wish it all away

If I thought tomorrow would take you away

It was painful listening to her and Asaru’s talks with Maker and his cohorts as they worked on this “Chrysalis” plan. He would be close by, but standing to the side, listening to it all. Hashing out what new DNA would be integrated into her system. It would play well with human DNA. It would be compatible with Asaru and perhaps enhance their bond. And then it would be compatible with the Weaver DNA already dwelling in her from the previous work he did to her when his Brethren broke her. Weavers. Hearing them mentioned worried Bradford even more. It wasn’t Ea’Njall-Vai’miti. Supposedly, it was his ‘siblings’ that had also contacted Jynn long ago. Amalgam was their name. They were more benevolent; part of him strongly doubted that. But… but… seemed like they didn’t inflict Jynn with marks or influenced her like Ea’Njall did. So maybe they were. But their brother was also making his own suggestions about this process. Suggestions and offers that he would help… no strings attached.

You, my peace of mind, my all, my center

Just trying to hold on one more day

That worried Bradford deeply. How would everything work? How would it all play out? No matter what he said to her would change her mind. Not even bringing up that Ea’Njall may try to make her his thrall as she’s going through this process despite his ‘promises’. She was going to do this. It had to be done. It was better than doing nothing. If it worked, it worked. If she became the Weaver’s thrall, they should kill her after they get the Elders off of the Earth. If that didn’t happen, and the process failed entirely, at least she wouldn’t suffer from the pain of degeneration for long. And it hurt to hear her saying of that. He didn’t want to lose her or even have to kill her. But nothing he said would make her budge. Stubborn like a mule. That trait he loved so much. He knew… he knew he couldn’t hold on to her forever.

Damn my eyes!

Damn my eyes!

So he let go. He had to. He couldn’t let his feelings interfere any longer as that day finally came. A long kiss before they both said goodbye. Asaru merged with her once more. He watched her step into that specially built infusion tank. Watched the lid lower and click shut before that dark liquid flooded the tank and that quickly covered her.

Damn my eyes if they should compromise the fulcrum

Wants and needs divide me then I might as well be gone

Now they just had to wait. He had to wait… and push her to the back of his mind. She was entrusting him with XCOM. With the Resistance. He couldn’t let his feelings cloud his judgement now. For now… she didn’t exist to him, so he could work.

Shine on forever

Shine on benevolent sun

But she eventually came back to his mind, no matter how hard he tried to forget her. Especially when he dreamed. He had to see her. When he had the time… when the War permitted him time… he would return to Maker’s lab to see how she was doing. The Elder had no words to say to him. Even he didn’t know how she was doing. He could sense her and Asaru’s presence was within the immersion tank, but could not feel her vitals. It was scattered, thrown to  the Void. So Bradford would sit down next to the tank. Place his hand on it. Whisper a few things to her. And wait for a response that would not calm. He would wait. Wait and pray.

Shine down upon the broken

Shine until the two become one

 Pray that this plan would work. That Jynn would be fixed, be made whole once more, and no more issues would arise. Pray that the damn malevolent Weaver would stay the hell away from her and Asaru. 

Shine on forever

Shine on benevolent sun

And the routine continued when the War allowed him to pay a few visits. They helped him mentally, but also tore at him deeply. No matter how hard he tried, he never got a response from her or Asaru. It was just an eerie silence as he sat there and waited. Just what was going on in that immersion tank? That liquid was like an all-consuming darkness, as no light could penetrate its surface. Yet, somehow, as its surface would occasionally ripple, it would twinkle like star light. Just a glimmer of something was happening. A glimmer of hope. But just what was this ‘blood of the Weavers’? What was it doing to her? He knew the answer, but didn’t want to think about it too much. He just quietly prayed that she would still be herself. That no drastic changes would come to her.

Shine down upon the severed

Shine until the two become one

Then, come one visit, he finally felt someone reach out to him. It was Asaru. The Ethereal sounded off, but was lucid enough to speak to him. All was going well. His bond to Jynn was properly mending. Though he had trouble detecting Jynn, he could feel her renewal was going well. He was unsure how much longer the process would last, but felt like to was coming to an end soon. Reassuring news to Bradford. He just wished he didn’t have to wait for so long.

Divided, I'll wither away

Divided, I'll wither away

His contact with Asaru was few and fleeting, but kept his mind away from those dark places. Places his mind would occasionally entertain, thinking of what would happen if this “Chrysalis” plan would fail. Deterioration. The death of both her and Asaru.

Shine down upon the many 

Light our way, benevolent sun

But one day, he felt her reaching out. Her touch. She was still there. Said she felt different, but the same. She felt as if she was still herself. The plan was working. Their connection didn’t hold for long, but she told him one thing before it came apart. See you soon, Cher.

Breathe in union

Breathe in union

The day finally came. All eyes were on that tank as the dark liquid receded. Bradford felt his hairs stand on end as part of his brain forced him to breathe. Even more so as the lid to the tank clicked and the lid rose. How was she?

Breathe in union

Breathe in union

The lid reached its peak. Asaru was the first person to emerge from the tank. The Ethereal burst forth with great vigor, flooding the room with a blue light. He no longer looked frail and weak. His bond perfectly rewoven with the Commander renewed him. His glow was brighter than ever.

Breathe in union

So as one survive

Another day and season

Asaru turned back to the tank and extended one of his arms out. Jynn reached out and grabbed it. He pulled her up. Some of the liquid still clung to her skin, slowly dripping off. A sigh of relief came from Bradford as he rushed over to her. She looked the same, if not better. There was still that damage from the Elders — scars on her nose and prominent cheekbones — but what came from the sudden onset of the degeneration had been healed. She was reborn. Hearing him say her name, and feeling a hand brush that wet hair plastered on her face out of the way, she turned to face him. She smiled. Sorry to keep you waiting, cowboy.

Silence, legion, save your poison

All those shadows, all those doubts and fears in his mind, melted away as soon as he saw that smile. She was fine. Everything would be just fine. There were new things for the two to get used to, but she was fine. That was all that mattered to him. The Resistance would win this war. The Elders will not stop them. Earth would be free once more. And he and Jynn… could finally rest and heal.

Silence, legion, stay out of my way